TOP
by TheStrayLine
Summary: Life has been tough on Hanako though she tries to keep a smile on her face. But her whole life is in a landslide after one minor break in character one night. The only person that may be able to help her is Hyuuga Neji. Although, isn't he just as broken as her? Can they come to peace with their pasts and move forwards together? Or are their pasts too daunting to face?
1. Crack in the Wall

Neji

My kunai hit the last target perfectly like usual. It wasn't unusual for me to train late into the night. Sometimes I just lost track of time after dinner. The peaceful breeze blew through the trees in the darkness as I yanked the knives and shuriken from their depths in the old, worn targets. The only sound I could hear was the breeze, but I felt a presence very near. Not a threating one, but one to be cautious of. Their chakra was vaguely familiar , but I couldn't pin it to someone I knew. Turning slowly, I held out a kunai to the person standing on the other side of the fence. With a quick glance to the moon, I'd say it was nearly midnight.

"Who's there," I demanded from the shadow at the fence. The person lifted their hand to their face before replying quietly with their name. Keeping my face void of emotion, I tried to keep my thrown thoughts on the logical side of seeing things.

"It's just me, Yamamoto Hanako, Neji-san," she said softly, almost like she was holding back some emotion from her voice.

I crossed the dirt training ground slowly. Why was she here? _I hardly know her. We've sparred about as many times as I have fingers, but I don't know if that warrants her coming to the Hyuuga Compound for nightly visits._ Perhaps she thought of us as closer friends than I did. I could see her coming to see Hinata, them being only a bit closer than her and I. That could be the reason for her late night appearance. Putting my hands on the fence, I tried to see her face. Doubting she could see mine, I asked her what her purpose for being here was.

"I…I need somewhere to stay for the night," she said slowly, "Could I stay here? Just for tonight?"

She had a home, so I didn't understand why she was asking, "Why don't you just go home?"

She remained silent, not answering my important question.

"Why did you come to me?" I tried again.

"…Because I knew you wouldn't ask a lot of questions…and everyone else I've asked has turned me away," there was ache in her voice, so she dropped it to a whisper to hide the pain again, "Please don't turn me away…"

In my mind, I gave a sigh. What was wrong with her? Motioning for her to walk to the gate with me, I noticed how she walked with her head down. I could see her face now, and tears threatened to spill over. Soundlessly, I opened the gate. I took notice of how noiseless her footsteps were. My feet were louder than hers even though I wasn't making much noise at all. When we got to the door and took off our shoes, she made no sound once so ever. I found an empty guestroom with a bathroom adjacent to it across the hall from my own room. Leading her in, I snapped on the lights when the door was shut.

"Since you don't want me asking too many questions, tell me what you want and don't want me to know," I told her with my arms crossed. She wiped her face before she spoke.

"I don't want to talk about why I can't go home, no, I'm not in trouble, this is a onetime thing, I don't want to talk about this in the morning because this never happened, I was never here, I'm fine, it's nothing that anyone should be concerned about, and I'll be out of here in the morning before anyone notices I was here," she said quickly, her head still down. It was easy to see how upset she was. Her eyes were full of tears and they were dark pools of misery. Never had I seen someone look this way outside of my own mirror. Her pain was something I felt I knew. Just bottling it up inside until emotions exploded and you could barely keep yourself standing. But both of us had façades to up hold. Hanako was never negative. She was always bouncing around with a bright grin on her face, playing pranks with Naruto as a kid and being friends with as many people as possible. But her friendships never seemed to go deeper than good friends. People knew who she was, but didn't know what she was really like. Her two teammates seemed to be the only people who could consider themselves her best friends, but even they said she was perfectly happy all the time.

Hanako laid on top of the covers of the bed and put the pillow on her face, so I shut the light off and left. But my thoughts of her kept churning. Sure, everyone had seen her cry before, but only for things where anyone would cry, like at the Third Hokage's funeral or when her family pet passed away. Her life was perfect. She had both parents that loved her, a younger brother, a nice house, she'd made it to Chunin and rumors were going around that she would soon be promoted to Jonin, her family had a reasonable amount of money, and she even had people stop for a few seconds on the street to look her over. So there seemed no logical explanation for her to be this upset, at the dead of night, looking for a place to stay. As I laid in my bed and stared at the ceiling, I could hear Hanako muffling sobs with the pillow. Only a couple minutes later did I hear her retching in the bathroom. After that, it was dead silence.

Hanako

My stomach burned and my lungs begged for air. It wasn't easy to hide the sobs. My throat was tight and bile burned at the back of it. I knew Neji wouldn't ask prying questions, that was why he was my last stop before sleeping in the woods. I had been to Sai's house, but he had no room for me. I had been to Naruto's house, but he wasn't home. I had gone to Sakura's house, but everyone was asleep. I thought about going to Shino, but he crept me out too much. Then I chanced going to the Hyuuga Compound, knowing they weren't nosey people. My first thought was Hinata, but then I saw Neji and knew he would be the better person ask. He was never one to pry at all. Curling into a ball, I tried to calm down. _Just sleep…God damn it, why can't I just sleep!_ It always took hours for me fall asleep. The burning filled the rest of my body as I cried more. But if I wasn't quiet, someone would notice and come find out what was going on. Shaking as I held in heavy sobs, tears coated my cheeks and the pillow. I gripped the sheets tightly as I thought over what had all happened. Why was it always like this? I said this would be the only time, but I couldn't guarantee that. My whole body felt like it was on fire and my tears were salty on my lips. I was drowning in my own tears. I felt like I was suffocating. Suddenly, it was too much to hold in and I sprung out of bed. Running for the bathroom, it emptied my stomach. After expelling anything left to leave my stomach unsettled, I found it easier to calm down. My sobs became lighter and I climbed to my feet. Washing out my mouth, the bed called my name. Its blanket felt softer beneath me and the pillow didn't feel as wet on the other side. I laid in the darkness for the next couple hours before I nodded off.

Neji

She wasn't lying when she said she'd leave before anyone was awake. I couldn't sleep all night; thinking of reasons for her to be upset kept my mind busy. Hearing her moving around quietly made me quickly get out of bed. Silently, I crossed the hall and opened the door to the guestroom. Not looking up from her ministrations, I watched her fix the bedspread and stare at it as she sighed. Her gaze refused to meet mine as she moved to leave. I put a hand on the doorframe and she stood before me with shame on her face.

"You're welcome back if this happens again," I told her softly. Never had I seen her like this before.

"It won't happen again. I'm sorry for burdening you," she murmured, ducking under my arm and walking down the hall to get her shoes.

I felt bad for her. Her mask had cracked for just a moment and she was forced to show it to someone for help. I remembered a time when I had been like that. I had all my hatred and anger and pain all bottled up inside me. Fighting was the only way I knew to release it all. People expected me to be level-headed and have my emotions under control all the time. No one was supposed to know how much pain I was really in. I came from a prestigious clan, I was considered a genius, and my skills were much more elite than others. What was there for me to be angry about or in pain over? Hardly anyone knew I lived without a father, a mother who worked more often than she was home, though she loved me, no one knew about the seal my clan had put on me, or the power they held over me. I was the vision of a perfect ninja. I had fan girls and all the boys wanted to be me. I refused to let them know I was so broken. But then Lee, Tenten, and Gai came along. An outlet for my pain was to beat Lee. To put him down. To ignore Tenten and make her feel unworthy in my presence. To make my sensei feel like his skills were inferior to mine. But…as fate would have it, I came to like my eccentric team. And then my fight with Naruto happened. Things changed for me. I didn't have to hide my pain so much anymore. After all I put my team through, they still cared about me and consoled me over it. They knew I didn't want any pity; my pride was too big for that. Everyone started to see me differently. But not in the way I had been worried they would. They saw me as an even stronger person for being how I was while living with all that mess inside me. The walls I'd put up around myself now had doors and it was my choice who could have the key. Going back to my own room to change, I thought about going after her. I decided against it. She didn't want to talk about it. She trusted me not to ask. She deserved that much after losing much of her dignity to asking for help.

But it didn't seem to feel right just leaving things the way they were. So going to my desk, I tried to think of a way to put my words that wouldn't bruise her ego even more. What I came up with I thought might amuse her, since humor was one of her favorite things. Everyone knew that.


	2. Happy As Can Be?

Hanako

"Let's go, Naruto! I don't have all day for you to make more clones! You know they don't work on me!" I shouted at him as he performed his jutsu. Throwing my senbons I took out about 20 of his clones at once, leaving him with about half. His pattern was too predictable. He always hung back on the left side of his clones. People had unconscious patterns and picking them up was my expertise. Using them against them was my tactic. Winning was my goal. Easily picking him out of the line up, I jumped on him and held a senbon to his neck. His clones reacted to me picking the right one and I took them out with a couple kunai and some wire while keeping a foot on Naruto's neck ready to step down if he did anything more than take a breath. Letting him up, he helped me pick up my poisoned senbon. Of course, he had to accidently prick himself and fall to the ground nearly paralyzed. I taunted him with a smirk as I held the antidote bottle above his face. After a good, full minute, I helped him. Cleaning up was my least favorite part of training, but it was a courtesy to the others who used the training grounds. Just as Naruto finished spooling up the wire I used and handed it to me, Neji walked up the path to town. _Don't make this awkward. He agreed to act like I was never there. Put a smile on your face, stupid._

"Hey Neji-san, how are you?" I grinned and waved to him. I had to act like it never happened. He nodded curtly at me, acknowledging he heard me.

"I'm fine, thank you," he said in his usual cold, polite tone.

"What's up, Neji?" Naruto usually referred to everyone in an informal way, so Neji didn't seem too agitated by never speaking aloud that Naruto may call him so.

"I merely came to drop off a note to Hanako-san," he said stoically with an indifferent look as he held out the folded paper to me. I took it with a bright smile, but his eyes seemed to accuse me of being fake, so I cast them downward to the note. On the front "Please call me Neji" was written.

Neji spoke before turning and leaving briskly, "Read it when you have time."

"What was that all about?" He asked, squinting at me while holding his arms behind his head, "Is it a looove note?" His tease made no effect on me as I pocketed the slip of paper.

"I'm going home for lunch. What are you doing?" I questioned. Pulling out a ramen ticket from his pocket, he gave a foxlike grin.

"I'm going to Ichiraku. Wanna come? I got another ticket," his eyebrows wiggling up and down only added to the humor of the lewd joke. Everyone knew he was going out with Hinata, so his provocative suggestion was no more than that.

"Nope, there's some left over teriyaki chicken at my house calling my name, so I'll see you tomorrow if you want," I told him as I waved good bye. He'd just have to find Hinata or sit by his lonesome, which never seemed much of a problem for him. He was fine with being alone. These days, it was becoming harder and harder to spend time alone with just my thoughts. Like now, as I walked home. Biting my lip, I ran the rest of the way. The faster I got there, the less time I'd have to think. Passing people on the street quickly was enthralling. It made me never want to stop running. But alas, I had to stop because I was fresh out of steam. Tired from training and running, I entered my house, kicking off my shoes and waving to my cousins as I came into the kitchen.

"Hanako, Natsu took my dolly," said my younger cousin.

"Where did he put it."

"In his room."

"I'll get it in a minute," I sighed, throwing the teriyaki chicken in the microwave.

After punching in the time, I headed up stairs to my younger brother's room. He was at the academy for now, but he'd be angry if he knew I was in his room, so I grabbed the dolly from under his bed and headed back down stairs. Everything he tried to hide was under his bed, in the back of his closet, or in the bottom right drawer of his bureau. That was one of his patterns, and also the reason I started learning conscious and unconscious patterns. I gave my little cousin her doll and she hurried out with her sister. My family could be considered a clan if only we had a kekkei genkai. We were surely big enough. Sitting in the living room, I shared the chicken with my uncle as we watched a dumb game show. I always spent time with my family, but it felt like time wasted. We never talked or anything. I felt more alone with them than I did with anyone else. Superficial and mind-numbing, that's what they were. After finishing lunch, I still had an hour before meeting with Sakura for a friendly evening spar. My tired legs trudged my worn-out body upstairs. My downfall was my stamina. I had become stronger in most other areas, but it was still something I had to be careful of. Letting others find out that weakness could be loads of trouble not only for me but for my team if I was with one. My room was the last door on the right once I was up the stairs, so I went in and collapsed on my bed. A good nap would fix this. But I only laid there 5 minutes before the note from Neji dreadfully came to mind as it burned in my waist pouch. Sitting up on my bed with my legs crossed, I unfolded the note, fearing what it just might say. But once it was open at full length, it was a long strip of paper with bold writing almost like…a coupon. "**One Free Stay at the Hyuuga Residence**" it read. Looking over the rest of the homemade coupon, I found other interesting things written. "May be used whatever date, at whatever time, for whatever reason," it boasted, "Almost no questions asked." I didn't know what to think of it. One more thing was written neatly, like the rest of the coupon, though smaller, at the bottom. "Must be used by: Forever" it said. Now I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Laugh because his way of letting me know he'd be there for me again if I needed him was in a coupon form. Or cry because I didn't want this to ever happen again, though I couldn't be sure of it. Slipping the coupon into my book about butterflies on my bookcase, I intended to forget its existence. There never was a slip in character that night. No one was to ever find out. It was the past, and I'd be damned if it didn't stay there. But I couldn't promise myself that.

{Author's Note/ A special thank you to sPaRkzZz for writing my first review!}


	3. Aching Secrets

Neji

Months went by after the incident. Hanako went back to being cheery and silly like she always was and we never spoke much more after that. I thought it was the end. Perhaps her so thought crack in façade had just been a mishap from stress or something and I was mistaken in it being something wrong with her. Perchance, she really _was_ always happy all the time. I never gave it much thought after the third month went by. And I had nearly forgotten by the fifth month as I sat by the window as it poured. Lightening cracked the sky as thunder shook the ground. The young ones were frightened and either huddled by their mothers in the living room, or grouped together in one of their sibling's rooms. It was time for bed, for everyone really, on a night like this, so I walked to my room slowly. Taking in the dark sky through every window I passed, I noticed a shadow by the fence. I had to be mistaken. It couldn't be Hanako. Why would she be out in this sort of weather? Hurrying to the front door unnoticed, I looked out the window at the top of the door. Lightning lit her pained look as water ran over and dripped quickly off her. Throwing open the door and grabbing an umbrella, I ran out into the storm to get her.

"What are you doing out in the rain, Hanako?!" I asked loudly over the storm, though I grabbed her arm and brought her to the porch without letting her answer first. After shaking off the umbrella and laying it on the floor, I turned to see her face in the porch light. Big, miserable tears fell down her cheeks as her lip quivered. She held something out to me. Looking down, I found the drenched coupon I made her a long time ago.

"I-Is…it still good…?" she whimpered.

"What does the date say?" I asked gently. Glancing down, she looked at the wet coupon.

"I-It's too wet to read…," she said in a teary voice. Taking it from her hands, I crumped it up.

"I guess I'll just have to accept it then," I told her, putting an arm around her shoulders and taking her inside. She took off her shoes and placed them gingerly by the door. It was like she was walking on air as she walked behind me silently to the room I'd put her in before. I made her go to the bathroom and change out of her wet clothes and into a pair I found in Hinata's clean laundry pile.

"Tell me what you want and don't want me to know," I said to her when she came out.

"The same as before…" she murmured as she climbed onto the bed and laid there like a dead fish, motionless as the air seemed to leave her. That dissatisfied me, so I grabbed her wrist and pulled her off the bed. Pulling back the covers, I shooed her into bed and laid them back over her.

"Don't dare leave this house before I am awake," I warned her. She hesitantly nodded. The red, oval marks on her arms were hidden by the long sleeves of the shirt, but I had noticed them when she wore her short sleeve shirt that hung in the bathroom shower to dry. It worried me how she came upon these marks, but I couldn't ask. That was part of the deal. So I went to bed.

The next morning, I woke up at 6AM sharp. I thought I'd find Hanako making the bed once again, ready to leave, but she was still asleep when I peered in the door. Tip toeing inside, I sat on the floor and meditated as I waited for her to awaken. All was quiet until I was startled out of my peaceful state by Hanako coughing. Opening my eyes and looking her over, she had her face shoved in the pillow to stifle her coughing fit. Once on my knees, I place a hand on her back. She arched her back and quickly pulled away, a cringe on her face.

"Are you okay?" I inquired, trying not to sound too prying.

She nodded, but the brightness in her cheeks and bags under her eyes told a different story. Putting the back of my hand to her forehead, her skin felt warm. Getting up and sitting on the bed with her, I switched hands to check. Her gaze was cast downward as I place the back of my hand to her forehead again. Then her cheek. Her cheek was colder than her forehead, so I decided there was only one other way to confirm it. The way my mother had showed me when taking care of a sick cousin.

"Please don't see this as inappropriate," I told her, cautiously slipping my hand into the collar of her shirt and resting the back of my hand just below her collar. She seemed too weary to be upset. I quickly retracted my hand to give her space. "You have a slight fever," I told her calmly.

"Why did you feel my chest?" She asked, looking up at me tiredly. It wasn't accusing; she was just curious.

"It's a technique my mother uses on my younger cousins. If you can't tell by feeling someone's face, their chest will definitely tell you," I explained as I helped her lay back down. She needed a cold compress. Coming back from the bathroom with a cold washcloth, she allowed me to take care of her.

"I'm sorry I'm such a burden…," she said, placing the balls of her palms to her eyes to hide tears.

That gave me a way to find out what happened, "Well, the least you could do is explain these marks," I said, pulling up her sleeve.

Sighing, she replied, "My mother hit me with the spoon she was making dinner with…"

"Do you want to tell me why?" I asked tenderly, thinking of how my mother would deal with this.

"No, I don't. I'm sorry," she said, breaking into sobs.

"Just let me take care of them, then," I told her as I got up. She nodded and I went to the bathroom to get some sort of cream. When I sat down on the bed again, she had her eyes closed with one hand touching the cold compress. Pushing up her sleeve as far as it would give, she cringed at the pain of the shirt brushing the marks. Upon closer inspection, I was surprised to see the extent of the damage the spoon had done.

"What was your mother making for dinner?" I asked cautiously.

"Stew," she replied shortly.

Some of the marks on her arm were burn marks. How could her own mother hit her with a scalding hot soup spoon? This required more first aid than I originally perceived. Going to my room and getting my waist pouch, I pulled out gauze pads and bandages. Luckily only some of the marks were burns, but that meant her mother hit her with the spoon until it had cooled off enough not to leave a burn in its wake. Though the look on my face was blank, my emotions were starting to coil up into a knot in my stomach. _Her mother beat her. How could a mother beat her child like this? My mother would never hurt me this way, no matter what I'd have done._ Watching Hanako's somber face as I applied cream to the first burn was like watching a starving child eat candy for the first time. Her muscles relaxed in my grip and she almost seemed to nodded off as I placed the gauze pad on and wrapped the bandage.

"Are there anymore marks like this?" I carefully asked when I was finished with her arm. She sighed and rolled onto her stomach. Curling up in a ball, she pulled up the back of the shirt to show me more of the red bruises and first degree burn marks. As I taped gauze pad to wound, I became so troubled I dared ask what had happened. Her answer was far from what I would have ever thought it to be.

"It was me being stupid. I deserved everything I got. I know better than to mouth off to my parents. I was raised better than that. But I just had to open my mouth. I was just so sick if it all that I shot off my mouth when I was not my place," she said, tucking her face into the pillow.

"What did you say?" I probed.

"I don't want to talk about it…," she said, shooting me down. I gave an understanding nod and a soft, "Okay." Once she was on her back again, I replaced her cold compress and got a bottle of pills to help her get over her fever and the pain of her injuries. Changed back into her normal clothes, I was about to let her go. Quickly stopping myself from telling her she was free to go, I crossed to my room and drew up another coupon. She gave a heavy sigh when I handed it to her, but her eyes thanked me.

"Don't ever be afraid to use this," I told her, pointing to the quickly made coupon, "I understand, sort of, what's going on with you."

"What exactly do you think is going on with me?" she questioned with a blank look.

"I don't know any specifics, but I do know that your wall that you put up is starting to fall in on you and you need someone to help you out of the rubble. I was once deep within the ruins my own fortress, and my team helped me out of it. I'll be there to pull you out if you need me to. Don't hesitate to ask for help. You'll drown in your own tears."

"How very philosophical of you," she said dryly before leaving.

I didn't take it personally because I knew she was just upset I figured out her secret; how her walls were caving in on her. There was no mistaking the plea for help in her eyes. When she was with friends, her eyes would be bright and cheerful. But when she was here, being her real self, her eyes were deep oceans of agony and misery. Sometimes they would be like that even when surrounded by friends. Why did no one else notice?

Hanako

Why did he have to be such a god damned genius? Why did he have to say it out loud? It just made the pain feel more real as I trudged to the training grounds with aching spots all over myself. Why did I ever let this happen? Why did I have to pick him? Collapsing to sit on my feet on the ground, I tried to keep the tears back. No one was supposed to know. My life is perfect. I have all anyone could ask for. What did I have to complain about? My feet quickly got me on my way, knowing no one should see my fracture in disposition. I had other things I was supposed to be doing, not falling apart on the street like some sort of imprudent Genin who just got back from their first mission in which they had to take a life. Pulling myself together, I composed myself with a breath. A soft smile pasted back across my face, I headed to training with Naruto like usual.


	4. The Wall Collaspes

Neji

"I heard she got promoted to Jonin," Ino gossiped over a group dinner we all had together. Sakura didn't seem too convinced.

"She's always coming in with some new injury. She's not much of a Jonin then," she muttered back.

Naruto looked offended by that, "She's a great shinobi! She's just clumsy sometimes. And distracted."

How had we even gotten onto the topic of Yamamoto Hanako? She wasn't extremely close with any of us. She was Naruto's friend anyway. What did her business mean to anyone. It was slightly aggravating they were talking behind her back like this when Ino and Sakura were supposed to be her friends or something.

"What could be bothering her so bad she's completely forgetting to block punches?" Sakura inquired.

"She never forgets to block when she trains with me," Naruto retorted. I stiffened in my seat.

"Well, she keeps coming to the hospital at all hours of the night with bruises. I assumed they were from you sparring with her."

"We never spar at night. Always after lunch until before dinner."

"Then who is beating the crap out of her?"

Ino pointed to me accusingly, "Neji are you the one beating the living hell out of this girl!" she shouted loudly.

"No. What would give you such an idea?" I asked offended she'd accused me of hurting one of our friends.

"I saw you with her a couple months ago. Are you going out with her? Are you the one who's training with her at night?"

"No, I'm not. We talk from time to time, but that's all. I train with Hinata in the evenings anyway," I replied with a frown. Hinata nodded to confirm it. A sick feeling was stirring in my stomach. Was Hanako's mother beating her again? Shino asked the question just at the tip of my tongue.

"What is the nature of her injuries, Sakura?" he implored.

Her frown turned to a grimace before she answered, "Bruises everywhere and cuts sometimes. She had a black eye the other week and begged me to heal it fully before anyone found out. She was really embarrassed about it. She said she ran into a tree while running through the woods while training at night but her nose wasn't scraped or bruised. I thought it was Naruto getting out of hand like he does sometimes when he's excited, since you two train a lot, so I didn't question it."

"Hey, I don't really know her, but to me it sounds like an abusive boyfriend or something," Kiba chimed in. Everyone looked around at each other to see if anyone else had any sort of idea what was going on with her.

Ino broke the silence, "I'm not saying she deserves it, but her having an abusive boyfriend would finally make her bit more believable."

"What's that supposed to mean, Ino," Shikamaru muttered, a bored look on his face as he pushed around the beef on his plate.

"She's this perfect being. No blemishes, nice hair, nice body type, gets promotions at regular intervals, from a big family that never does anything negative, not even like a black sheep cousin or something. Her life is perfect. So I'm just saying she may look perfect, but she's hiding something obviously," she said back with a shrug.

"That was really low, Ino," Naruto grumbled, his eyes on his plate, "So what if she's got a nice life? That means she's hiding some terrible secret? She's just a nice person all the time, unlike you."

All hell broke loose as Ino tried to fly over the table at Naruto. There was a lot of fighting now and everything seemed normal. Naruto always pissed off either Sakura or Ino, so dinner was going just as usual as it ever did.

"Hey, you mangy mutt! Get out my restaurant! There's no scraps for you here!" came shouting from outside our booth. A medium sized dog ran in and jumped into my lap.

"Sir, you can't have your dog in here," the owner told me once he caught up to it.

"This isn't my dog," I told him, trying to shoo it out of my lap. The others were being too obnoxious to notice.

"I'll take it out then," he told me, grabbing the collar of the dog. It yipped at him, shaking his head. A piece of paper fell from his collar and I picked it up. My heart stopped for a second, seeing what it said. Written quickly were the words HELP ME. Turning it over, I almost died. It was the coupon I made for Hanako. Jumping to my feet I told the owner I knew who's dog it was and would take it home. Grabbing the most reachable and sane person I could find, I pulled Sai to his feet and dragged him with me. Our friends noticed and called after us, but there wasn't time. I showed him the back of the note and checked the dog's collar.

"Who sent the note with the dog?" he asked as we hopped from roof to roof.

"Yamamoto Hanako," I replied quickly.

Her house wasn't far, but it took time to locate the actual house. It was in a part of a neighborhood that had many large homes. Dropping down into the street, we quickly counted the house numbers. Sai took the right, I took the left. _Come on, one of these damn houses has to at least have her family symbol on it. It would make this so much easier if they did._ It took all of 2 minutes to find the grey house with the right numbers. Walking up to the front door, we listened for signs of distress. The house seemed quiet, but it was a rather large house like mine. We wouldn't be able to hear anything happening at the back of the house from the front. I motioned toward the roof and Sai followed on my heels. We walked slowly on the roof, listening for shouts. The sun was setting, but we had no time to admire it. Hanako was somewhere inside in need of help. After walking all the way to the back of the house, we heard sobbing. It was faint, but that was our cue. Landing in the backyard, we saw a light on at the back of the house. We knocked the back door off its hinges and ran into the house. Down the hall was an archway that emitted the sound of Hanako sobbing. I'd never be able to forget that sound. I motioned to Sai that I would go first and he should come in no more than 4 seconds after. Entering the room, it was a sight to see. Hanako was curled up on the floor as a man stood over her, blood on his fists. He was yelling at her, but his words didn't register to me; I merely ran towards him as soon as I entered and slammed him into the nearest wall. Sai came in and snatched a wooden spoon from a woman who came up behind me. The man fought against my grip on his wrists, only landing a single punch on me before I threw him across the kitchen. Sai got Hanako to her feet, but she tried to hide her bloody face in his chest.

"Who the hell do you think you are, breaking in here!" Yelled the man as I walked over to Hanako.

"Who are you to be beating Hanako like this!" I yelled back, letting her into my arms as Sai checked the hall for any other obstacles. We were getting her out of here as soon as possible.

"I'm her father, that's who!" he roared, "I'll discipline my daughter however I like!"

"What kind of father punches his own daughter in the face," I said flatly, leading her out.

"Where do you think you're going, Hanako!" he screamed at her.

"Don't listen to him. You need to get away from him," I whispered to her as I ushered her out. We heard him smash something and come after us, so we all rushed out and ran quickly down the road to be out of sight. Sai and I helped her walk to my house, since her adrenaline from fear had dissipated and her injuries had caught up to her. She tried not to cry, but it was easy to see the black and blue shoe print on her lower shin where it seemed her father kicked her and either fractured or broke her ankle.

"Relax. We'll carry your weight, Hanako. Don't hurt yourself," I told her as Sai and I both stood a bit taller to make it so her toes just brushed the ground. She tried to refuse at first, but broke down and sobbed for Sakura's medical attention. Once at the gate of my home, Sai ran off to find Sakura while Hanako sobbed into my shirt. I had to hug her to keep her standing, so I picked her up like a child and carried her inside. My relatives were surprised to say the least, but I ignored them all and asked them politely to move as I took her to her usual room.


	5. Dealing with the Ruins

Neji

"Lay down and rest," I told her once I put her back on her feet. She stood on her one good foot and elevated the other like a wounded puppy, gripping my shirt in her fists.

"I got blood all over your nice white shirt…" she sobbed. I knew she was trying to distract me from asking her the obvious question.

"It'll go nicely with all the stains on my other ones once it goes through the wash," I said as I scooped her up and set her on the bed. I held off on questions and went to tend to her foot. She screamed in agony as I tried to get the shoe off her swollen ankle.

"Wh-Where's Sakura…! Sh-She can fix it…!" she bawled, hiding her face in her hands.

"She's coming."

"St-Stop pulling…! I-It hurts…!"

I stopped when she said that. I knew as a shinobi, she knew how to take pain, but she shouldn't have been in that much pain over a mere fractured bone. I left the room at the sound of a commotion at the front door. Sakura was asking my family where Hanako was when they didn't even know_ who_ she was.

"This way," I told her, leading her to Hanako. She gasped at the sight of her and rushed to get her fixed up.

"Get a bucket of ice and get her out of that vest," she ordered, tying her hair back quickly before taking a knife to Hanako's shoe. I tried to explain to my curious and alarmed family what happened to her as I got as much ice from the freezer as I could, but even I wasn't sure what really happened. My family was glad to pitch in and help and began filling the ice trays I dumped out into a bucket from under the sink. Taking what I could back to Sakura, she had the shoe cut off and was healing Hanako's ankle.

"Is it broken?" I asked, placing the bucket on the floor.

"That's not enough ice and yes, violently," she said quickly, trying to keep full focus on her task.

"My family is working on it as fast as possible," I told her. We could hear inquires about anyone who knew how to use water techniques to freeze the water quicker. I unzipped Hanako's vest and she seemed to be in another place. She was barely responsive.

"She's sort of in shock," Sakura told me when I expressed concern. I was shocked to find that the inside of the vest, which has some sort of hard, brick like material in it, was broke in multiple places. This happened sometimes on missions and it could easily be replaced, but a huge amount of force was needed in a punch to break it. Had she not been wearing her shinobi uniform, she would have died long before Sai and I would've been able to reach her. Lifting her up, I pulled the vest off and dropped it on the floor. It made an odd sound, like a broken clay pot inside a pillowcase.

"What else do you need me to do," I asked.

"Get her other shoe off and get more ice," Sakura said, moving to feel Hanako's pulse. Her second shoe was easy to get off, but the ice was slow coming. My relatives were running to the neighbors to ask for ice, but it was winter. No one needed ice, so no one made ice. I wished it had snowed, but it was only December. Snow didn't come until January or February around here if at all. I brought back an ace bandage for Hanako's ankle and wiped the blood from her face. It had looked worse than it was. Only her cheek was cut and her lip was split. Her one eye was blackened and seemed to hurt her to open it, so she kept her eyes closed for the most part. We finally had enough ice an hour or so later, so I helped Sakura sit Hanako up and put her bruised and broken ankle into the bucket.

"It seems whoever did this to her stepped just above her ankle to keep her from getting away and it broke at the weakest part, her joint, by stepping down. Were we right, Neji? Was it an abusive boyfriend?" she asked with concern as Hanako's ankle numbed to the point where Sakura could help her more.

"It was her father," I said coldly, remembering the scene, "She came to me before because her mother beat her with a scalding hot wooden spoon. I promised not to ask why because she was humiliated to come to me for help. But now we need to know what's actually going on."

Sakura was shocked and looked over her friend she had spoken badly about earlier, "I thought she was just being a klutz. Why didn't she tell someone?"

"Like Ino said, she's supposed to be this perfect person. She wanted to up keep that image for us so we wouldn't worry." I explained.

Then it just all came out. How she came to me the first night almost a year ago. It'd been a mere fight then. And slowly it escalated from there. I told her I couldn't begin to guess what they had fought about or why it would throw her parents into a fit of rage. She had no guesses either. Some of my younger cousins asked to come in and see "the hurt girl" and I didn't see any reason to stop them. They observed her wounds quietly and were all outraged to find out her parents did it to her. Their parents were too, reassuring their children that no matter how angry they would get at them for any reason, they would never lay their hands on them in any way. Sure, there were some in my family who believed in spanking their younger children in an extreme case, but they were appalled by the shape Hanako was in. Hinata stood in the door way, upset she didn't see it. She told us Hanako had odd bruises here or there when she would go to see Naruto and Hanako after they trained together, but chalked it up to just Naruto being rough. Just like everyone else had.

{Author's Note: A special thank you to Imaginary Owls for writing a review, favoriting, and adding this story to their alerts.}


	6. Light Through the Key Hole

Hanako

When I woke up, I was in the hospital. All was quiet and the room was empty. On a closer glance I noticed lots of hand written "Get Well Soon" cards, most with not the best of hand writing. Flowers lined the window sill and filled the seat of one of two chairs against the wall. All that had happened started to come back to me quickly and I threw the blanket off my legs. My left ankle was splinted and bandaged; moving it didn't work and caused pain to try. Most of my previous bruises were gone, so touched my face. The cut on my cheek was gone, but my eye still ached. Licking my lips revealed my split lip was still there. I guessed the nurses had focused most of their healing jutsus on my definitely broken ankle. Wondering who all the cards were from, I picked up the nearest one. On the front was a get well greeting and a novice picture of a girl in a leg cast. On the inside was more well wishes and was signed by a "Hyuuga Hito." I was totally confused as I picked up another card after replacing the first one and it was also signed by a Hyuuga I'd never met. The third one was a store bought card with flowers on the front. Nice handwriting on the inside divulged well wishes from Ino. The door opened and Neji walked in. He glanced to me and looked slightly surprised.

"You're awake," he said, coming over and placing a plate in my hand, "We weren't expecting you to wake for another hour or so."

"What's going on? Who are all these cards from?" I asked, wanting answers as he grabbed the empty chair to sit near me. I was confused and my head felt a bit fuzzy, so I wanted answers before I passed out or something.

"They're 'Get Well Soon' cards all my younger cousins wrote to you. And then some are from Naruto and everyone," he answered calmly with a straight face as he cut open a peach with a kunai.

"And the flowers?"

"From my aunts and uncles, Hinata and her sister, Ino and Sakura, those orange ones there, you can guess who they're from, and those purple ones are from me," he told me, placing the pit of the peach on the plate he'd handed me, "Everyone knows what happened to you Hanako, so you don't have to hide your pain anymore. We're all here to support you. You don't have to be a perfect image of happiness now. What we'd all like to know is why your parents beat you so badly."

"Why did you tell them," I asked with a betrayed feeling rising in my stomach. He placed the peach slices on plate and wiped his hands on a paper towel he had with him.

"They wanted to know, Hanako, and you need to understand that we all understand. We all have reputations to up hold. But you're almost literally killing yourself to keep it all a secret. As your friends, we're not going to stand for it. We all love you and can't bear to see you hurt, and by the very people who are supposed to love you with all their hearts," he said, taking a slice of peach. I took one too.

"No one's ever really cared about me like this before…" I said quietly, "No one has ever really made an effort to be my friend besides Naruto. And sometimes I feel ignored by Naruto because he has Hinata. He has someone who loves him unconditionally. I just don't make friends well. Whenever I make a friend, they end up being my friend for the time we spend together but then they have other friends that they like to be with more…" Tears jerked at my lower eye lashes, but I refused to let them out. I reached up to wipe them and Neji stopped me. They dropped out of eyes and into my lap. Some dribbled pathetically down my cheeks.

"This is what we all want to see," he told me.

"You want to see me cry," I deadpanned.

"We want to see real emotion out of you. Forced smiles are worse than tears," Biting my lip, I tried not to look at him, "Perhaps it's hard for you to make friends because they feel you're being fake with them. Or because you hold back so much."

His eyes were bland. They had no color. They weren't interesting in any way other than them lacking pupils. But they had an intense look to them. They saw everything. He saw my pain even when I wasn't showing him it. He saw what was going on with me before I ever wanted him to. He jumped into action to stop what I could have. But they seemed to condemn me. They looked at me harshly saying, "You should have told me. I would have helped you. You lost control, dropped the ball, and I'm tired of picking up your slack."

"You blame me for letting it come to this," I said miserably, pushing away the plate of peaches.

"I don't blame you for any of this. They are your parents. How are you supposed to hit the people who made you, raised you, and shaped who you are today? How can anyone blame you for not fighting back when blows should never have been thrown?" he said, picking up a slice of peach and holding it out for me to eat, "All we want to know is _why_ it happened. What did you do that made them so angry?"

"It's what I _didn't_ want to do that angered them," I said quickly, biting the peach and looking away. He watched me curiously, his stoic look not changing too drastically.

"What was their request?" he asked gently, reaching out for my hand. I hesitantly let him take it before answering.

"They wanted me to quit being a shinobi to get married to some boy I've never met in another country," I said, squeezing his hand, "They wanted me to give up _my_ dream of being an ANBU Captain to be a baby farm at the age of 17. I'm not old enough and I told them that. That's what started the fight, which was first time I asked to stay with you. The next time we fought was when they demanded I turn in my headband the next day and I told them I wouldn't do it just because they told me to. That's why my mother beat me with the spoon. She says it's my duty as a woman to raise a family not make the money or put myself in danger. Then this last time I told them I'd never get married. I'd leave as soon as I had all my things and live on my own in my own apartment if they kept pushing the marriage idea. My father was furious that I spoke back and defied him. He tried to beat sense into me because I'm to do what they say. I'm to give up my whole life to someone I don't know and provide children and take care of them myself. They never counted me on being okay with living alone and never having kids. I'm a disgrace to them, so my father set out to put me straight. To make me as obedient as I was when I was a child. I'll _never _go back to being like that. They're wrong. I'm going to do something with my life. I'm stronger than they think I am."

It was all finally off my chest and out in the open for him to see now. It made me burst into tears and I let him pull me into a hug. _I've never had a real shoulder to cry on,_ I mused as I rubbed my tears all over his shoulder. He wouldn't let me wipe my own tears, wiping them away with his sleeve. He urged me to let them all out, the years of being afraid of my parents and the last year of torture I'd been through. Naruto came into the room a half hour into my cry-fest and immediately ran over and yanked me out of bed into a bear hug. Hinata was with him and came in a moment later. She ran to join the hug, tears in her eyes too. Naruto was rambling on about how he'd make sure no one ever laid their hands on me like that again, but my only worry was that Hinata would be angry with me. As all Hyuuga seemed to be able to do, she sensed my apprehension of being so close to Naruto with her in the room, so she explained that she was happy to share his never ending supply of love. She was okay with us being friends. It was such a relief to know this because for years I tried to avoid her so she wouldn't accuse me of tempting her boyfriend. Neji made them all quiet down and sit, Naruto in the chair, Hinata on the end of the bed. He urged me to explain to them why it happened. I was forced to reveal that I had gone to Neji for support and what my close-minded parents wanted of me. Hinata said she had no idea I'd even been to their home and Naruto was upset I didn't go to him, but was happy I'd gone to someone instead of bearing it all alone. Naruto and Hinata left and more of Naruto's friends stopped by. I was surprised they considered me a friend, people like Kiba or Choji whom I'd never met before told me if I was a friend of Naruto's I was worth having as a friend. It slowly became easier to explain what happened with each person who came in to check on me. Neji was constantly there to support me and help clarify for me. More than 3 apples, a peach, and a box of cherries was what we'd gone through by the end of the day. Apparently, Lord Hyuuga send a basket of fresh fruit from their home garden to me. Neji would cut it and I'd hold the plate, and we'd explain to my new found and concerned friends what I'd gone through. My heart was filled passed the brim with the feeling of being worried over. I'd never known I'd been a concern to anyone besides Naruto, really. After the last person Neji said would be coming, he sat in the empty chair so many had taken that day to tell me I could come to them at any time if I was in anymore need of assistance.

"Do you see? You make friends better than you thought you did," he said, a slight smile on his face as he cut the tops off the strawberries.

"I guess so…" I murmured, taking a bite of the beautifully ripe berry he'd handed me.

He had an odd look on his face a moment later. His lips were pursed and his eyes were cast downward to the floor before flicking quickly upwards to me after a moment of thought.

"We, meaning my clan, and myself especially, don't want you returning to your home after you're discharged tomorrow. I don't know how you feel about going home, but we'd like to ask you if you would accept a room in our house where you could recuperate, so you won't be in a stressful environment and you could be attended to by a relative of mine who is a medical shinobi. We would be glad to have you stay as long as you need and would provide you with anything you need, so you don't have to face your family just yet. My uncle will make it so your parents agree, so you can—"

I chuckled and reached over to place my hands on his, "I'd be glad to," I told him with a bright smile, "You may continue to ramble now."

His ears turned red and he nodded, "We'd would like to provide you with a couple pairs of clothes, you wouldn't have to worry about paying us anything, I would just like to ask you what size clothing you wear—I mean you don't have to tell me specifically. I understand if that is embarrassing, but we want you on strict bed rest for at least until the end of the week, so just write down your clothing sizes and the colors you like and I'm sure one of my many female cousins could come up with outfits that you would like—" he cut himself off again, sighing, "This isn't being said the way I mean it to come out."

"Oh, please, continue. It's the most I've ever heard you speak in my entire time of knowing you," I giggled, leaning back and looking him over. He scowled and sat quietly, seemingly thinking of a way to say all he had to say. I had seen nothing wrong with his long winded explanations, but for some reason he thought he was offending me or whatnot. Finally, he looked up at me with a straight face.

"All I ask is for you to come home with me and let me know if something we do for you displeases you," this made his whole face turn red like I'd seen Hinata's do when Naruto whispered in her ear, "I don't mean 'come home with me' in any context other than you living with my family and me for a little while. Please forgive any implication you may have thought I said, for it was a mistake in wording that I should have noticed before saying it."

"I forgive you," I told him, for it seemed the only way he'd calm down and return to his normal, pallid color.

"Visiting hours end at 8, and it is now 7:50, so I will go before Sakura comes in here and kicks me out again," he said standing. I gave him an odd look and he briskly walked out before I could say anything. _What does he mean by "again"?_ Exactly ten minutes later, Sakura walked in with a clipboard in hand. Her look was one of surprise.

"Where did Neji go?" she asked me, glancing out into the hall.

"He rushed out of here 10 minutes ago," I said with confusion.

"Good. I brought my clipboard just in case this time," she said, coming to take his vacant seat and moved the covers to look over my foot.

" 'This time'?" I asked her simply.

"I had to chase him out of this room the two days you were out cold. He tried staying past visiting hours and I told him he had to go, but he refused to get out of this seat both times. I had to literally drag him out of the room, once by his ear, the other by his hair, and I was fully prepared to beat him out of the room with my clipboard this time," She explained as she rearranged the bandages around my ankle, "Have you been trying to move your ankle?"

"Yes," I replied quickly, "Why wouldn't he leave?" I asked curiously.

"He was so worried about you. Guess he saw this as his fault because he knew all about it and did nothing until now. Either that or he loves you," she replied, an annoyed look passing over her face, "Don't try to move your foot you idiot, you haven't even begun to heal yet." There were more complaints but I didn't listen. _He was worried about me? Maybe he does like me…_ I considered for about a minute, but then again why would he like me after all the trouble I'd caused him? He was just taking care of me because he felt this was his fault. I barely had friends, why would anyone _like _me? But in the back of my mind I held onto the thought that if I had just found out how many people considered me a friend, there could be a possibility someone could like me.


	7. Opening the Door to the Outside

"I'm sorry about your old ones. There wasn't any way of saving the left one," I apologized as Hanako stood on crutches with an old pair of my own shoes I'd found at the back of my closet dangling loosely on her feet. She smiled up at me anyway.

"It's fine. I don't expect I'll be allowed to do much walking anyway, and it's good that this one is big on me so it fits with all these bandages on my ankle," she explained, "Now let's go, I'm kind of excited to be outside. Being stuck in here was so boring."

I didn't know what she expected because she'd just be more stir crazy at my house. With all her cards in a plastic bag and the remaining, not wilted flowers in my hand, we headed for the exit down stairs. She thanked the nurses as we passed by and she said her good byes. She really was a happy person even when she wasn't forcing it. It was refreshing to see her cheerful and stress free, almost skipping down the hall. I held the door open for her to let her walk onto the landing before the stairs down. Before I could stop her, she was trying to hold her crutches and sit on the stairs to slowly slide down one stair at a time on her butt.

"Wait, stop," I said, hurrying down the steps to stand in front of her.

"What? This is how the nurse advised going down steps," she told me. I shook my head and put out a hand for her to stand up. Once back on her feet, I took the crutches from her to lean them against the railing and scooped her up into my arm. A surprised look remained on her face as I grabbed her crutches and continued down the stairs.

"That's why you have me," I told her, trying to resist the urge to check her expression. Her arms held tight to my neck and remained quiet as I continued down the stair well, "Does this make you uncomfortable? I should have asked permission before I just picked you up. I'm sorry," I scolded myself. Perhaps it displeased her to have me holding her. I was touching her thighs and her bottom sat in the crook of my arm.

"O-Oh, no! I'm fine, really! I'm quite comfortable! I was just surprised. I've never had a guy touch my butt before," she said quickly and insistently. But her last remark made my foot fumble on the next stair and suddenly we were both sailing through the air towards the steps below us. I caught the railing as she placed both hands on the step below, but she continued to fall backwards. Her balance was off from the heavy splinting and bandages on her foot. I lunged forward, still holding the banister, and letting go of her cards and flowers, grabbing the back of her shirt to try and keep her from landing on her feet, but I hadn't held her high enough. Her feet smacked the next step, her instincts kicking in and tell her to land on both feet before tumbling to her death, but her full weight landed on both ankles and her knees buckled. Her scream echoed in the stairwell as I held her up only by the back of her shirt. Rushing into action, I scooped her up in both arms and she grabbed my neck, a heavy whimper coming from her as she pushed her face into the crook of my neck.

"Hanako, I'm so sorry!" I said trying to calm her down. I could feel her moist tears on my shoulder.

"I'm fine…," she murmured.

"Do you want me to take you to a nurse?" I asked, my body fully alert and alarm filling my mind.

"Just get me out of here…!" she sobbed, gripping my neck tighter, "Get me out of this stupid place…!"

I hurried down the remaining steps to grab her lost crutches and possessions. Two more flights of stairs and we were in the lobby. She wouldn't let me put her down. The receptionist found a nurse to check out the added damage and luckily it was just pain from the pressure and not more of an injury. The nurse gave her a dose of the pain medicine she'd been prescribed to begin with and she calmed down as the effects took over. The nurse gave me instructions as Hanako dozed off to pain medication land.

"Don't let her walk without the crutches, make sure she only takes baths and keeps the bandages out of the water, make sure she won't have to walk up and down stairs for anything, no training once so ever, her medication is a once a day thing and only when the pain is at its peak for the day, we can't have her getting addicted to it, if she is uncooperative with the crutches a threat you may use is that you will tell us and we will put her in a wheel chair until the splint is taken off. Understand everything?" the nurse asked at she patted Hanako's head. She had her head tilted on my shoulder, a glazed over look in her eyes.

"Yes, ma'am," I told her.

"Oh, and don't let her walk, even with her crutches, after she's taken the medication. She'll be like this for 3 hours and still be dizzy for 3 more hours, so if she takes it in the morning, she won't be allowed on crutches until 6 hours later," she lectured. I gave a nod and carried her out of the hospital with her medicine, possessions, and crutches in one hand and her in the other. Outside were some of our friends, glad to see her out of the hospital, eagerly took the crutches, medicine, flowers, and cards off my hands so I could carry her easier. She waved drunkenly at them and called them the wrong names, and they laughed as they walked home with us. She fell asleep halfway there and both Sakura and Ino gave her injury one last look before bidding us good bye. Hinata carried her medicine and our younger cousins in the yard fought over who got to carry "the hurt girl's" crutches into the house. Hanako drooled on her pillow in her new room as she slept in a blissful medically induced slumber with the younger ones willingly taking naps around her on the bed and even on the floor. I sat against the closet door and meditated, official babysitter of them all, but eventually I fell into a surprise nap.

I woke up with a foggy head. My foot felt numb and I rubbed my eyes to wake up. The room spun a little when I sat up and I was alarmed to see a hundred little children curled up around me on the bed and floor. My mind came into focus a little better after a minute, but there were still a lot of children around me. Some were awake and looking at me now.

"Hello…," I said slowly to all the pale eyed children. They all smiled and one jumped into my lap.

"Are you okay now, Hurt Girl?" he asked as he played with a strand of my hair and wiggled in my lap.

"My name is Hanako, and no, my foot is still hurt," I told them. They all repeated my name to each other before all looking back at me. It was quite frightening to see the army of little Hyuuga children.

"Where is Neji?" I asked cautiously.

They all grinned and pointed to the left side of the bed. There sat Neji on the floor, hunched over and possibly asleep.

"Don't wake him, he'll make us leave," one told me, "He's no fun," another said. They all pulled me to get up, my crutches within hand's reach. Taking them and getting to my semi-useful feet, I let them tug at my clothes and lead me out. Getting up had made my mind foggy again. Once in the hall, I started to fall forward, but they tugged at my clothes from behind and pushed from in front to keep me balanced. I followed the little white eyed munchkins down the hall to another room with toys in it. They helped me sit on the floor and a few plopped into my lap together. They ran around and played loudly as I leaned against the foot of an arm chair. With a toddler trying to eat my hair, a five year old attempting to read to me, and a seven year old nestling into my side and under my arm with a thumb in her mouth, I let my head tilt to the side and I fell asleep again.


	8. Waking Up

Neji

I woke up to the sound of Hiro and Hitomi screaming at each other from the playroom down the hall. It was their usual sibling quarrel over who deserved the coloring book more. That was when I realized all the children had disappeared from the room. And so had Hanako! Jumping to my feet I rushed down the hall to question the little devils about where they'd let Hanako walk off to. But when I reached the room, Hinata was already there, telling them to quiet down and bouncing a toddler on her knee.

"Where is Hanako?" I asked with a glare at the children. They all went silent and pointed to the chair on the other side of the room. Hanako laid on her side in front of it as she slept on the floor. Her crutches were neatly lined up against the wall next to her.

"We wanted to play but she fell asleep again, so we tried to play quietly," explained one of my cousins.

"I-I came in when Hito told me Hanako wouldn't wake up and I watched over them," she told me in a timid stutter.

"Why didn't you wake me," I demanded.

"Y-You needed rest," she said, stroking the hair of the toddler on her knee.

I huffed and came in, going to scoop up Hanako to put her back in bed, but my cousins rushed to stop me.

"You'll wake her!" they protested, "She can sleep here! We'll be quiet again!"

So I took a seat next to her on the floor and watched over the usually rowdy children as they found something quiet to do. It was quietest they'd ever been in their lives until Hanako woke up again. They all mauled her in a hug, some jumping in my own lap because they were so excited she was awake. It was one of their first interactions with someone outside of the clan; someone who was completely new to them. They awed over her eyes, for they were used to seeing the normal, bland eyes of our clan. She wasn't yet fully awake and they were bombarding her with questions about why her eyes had dots in them and why they had an odd color. Why was she wearing such revealing clothes, wanting to know why they could see her collar bone and part of her chest for her V-neck t-shirt the hospital provided was slightly outside the modest dress code we had within our family. They poked her anywhere skin was showing, asking why she was a different color completely, for her skin was slightly tanner than any of ours. Making them back off was a hard task, but Hinata and I managed to shoo them back to their mothers and leave her alone. She blinked tiredly, her head resting on my shoulder as they all fled the room hastily to avoid punishment.

"Where am I?" she asked drowsily, feeling the hardwood floor beneath her.

"In the playroom of the Hyuuga Compound," I told her as she glanced around blearily.

"Why am I here?" she asked, trying to get to her feet. Hinata and I held her up and got her crutches under her, but had to hold her standing up. It was a miracle the children hadn't let her fall on her face when they dragged her here.

"Our younger cousins were excited to see you and meet you. They dragged you here when you woke up the first time," I clarified. She nodded and then closer her eyes, going back to sleep again. I ended up carrying her back to bed.

Hanako

When I woke up, Neji was sitting in a chair next to my bed, reading a book. I groaned from the throbbing pain in my ankle and he quickly turned his attention to me.

"Hungry?" he asked. I tried to smile at him as I attempted to push away the pain. He nodded and left the room, coming back with a bed tray in hand.

"Aw, I wanted to eat with you and your family," I told him with dismay while sitting up in bed.

"Hanako, it's 10 o'clock at night," he told me to my utter surprise. How had time gotten away from me?! Neji told me about the adventure I went on with his cousins and I told him about how I didn't remember a thing. He gave a chuckle and I smiled as I ate.

"If you'd like to bathe, you can do so, but the nurse said you can't get your bandages wet," he informed me as he got up.

I let him fill the bath tub for me as I ate and he was even kind enough to bring me a set of toiletries I could use while I stayed there. He left me to my own devises and eventually I made it to the bathroom. I couldn't get through the door with my crutches, so I ended up laying on my stomach and army crawling into the other room and up to the bathtub. It was a struggle to get my pants off with the bugle of bandages in the way, but I managed to pull them off without messing them up too much. The bigger struggle was getting into the tub without putting both feet in. After sitting on the edge and sliding in, smacking my head on the wall behind me, I sat awkwardly with one leg hanging out of the tub. It was probably hilarious to watch, but this was anything from easy. The bathtub was nice and big, but quite deep, making it hard for me to keep my nose above the water and my leg out of the water at the same time. It would have made a perfect comedy show to see me try to wash my hair and drown simultaneously every other half minute. Once I drained the obvious soaking tub of all its water, I cried out for help, since there was no way I was going to get out of the water slick tub by myself. I'd tried and gained three more lumps on the back of my head. Hinata and another woman came in and helped me out, wrapping me up and helping me sit on the toilet to redress myself. We all had a good laugh when I told them about my bath time escapade. They promised to let me use a shallower tub the next time around. And then it was back to bed for me. I guess I was still tried because I fell asleep quickly after Neji said good night.


	9. Is the Light Dimming?

Neji

"No," I told her.

"Please? Please, please, please?" she begged.

"The nurse said absolutely no training," I informed Hanako as she sat in bed with a pout.

"What about just target practice? I'll just sit somewhere and throw kunai. I promise!"

"No."

She crossed her arms while pouting like a child. We were at a stalemate because she was impossible and I was resolute. She _was not_ going to train. The nurse said none once so ever and I wasn't about break the rules. While Hanako and I stared each other down to see who would back down first, someone knocked on the doorframe.

"Hey, hey, can you tell him to let me train? I'll just throw kunai! I promise!" she begged her visitor.

"Neji, let her sit on the porch and throw some knives," she replied.

"But her foot—"

"So? She can sit."

"Who will retrieve her weapons then?"

"One of your cousins can do it. They adore her."

"But mother—"

"Neji, I'll do it myself if I have to," she replied to my rebuttal.

Sighing in defeat, I turned to get Hanako's crutches. She remained quiet, glancing between my mother and me. We led her out to the back deck and I made her sit next to a support beam in case she needed to get up by herself. I went to train with one of my cousins just a little bit away and my mother watched over her.

Hanako

"So you're Neji's mother?" I asked in awe when she sat beside me.

"I'd surely hope so, or he's been calling the wrong person 'mother' for 18 years," she joked with a pleasant smile.

"I-I was just surprised because you look nothing alike," I stuttered as I tied wire to the ends of my kunai. This way I could pull them back to me and she wouldn't have to retrieve them for me. She was a beautiful woman with long black hair tied into a ponytail at the base of her neck and pale blue eyes.

"He takes after his father more than me, but don't be fooled. He gets that sharp tongue of his from me, not his father," she chuckled, "His father had no way with words other than not saying them."

I nodded eagerly, throwing the kunai after tying it loosely around my wrist. I grinned at her when it hit the second to center ring of the target set up in their backyard.

"I can see you aren't the front line sort of shinobi," she said after seeing me take two more times to finally hit the dead center of target. I nodded, yanking the kunai back to me.

"So what type of shinobi are you then?" she asked curiously.

"I'm an analytical one, I guess. I work with the Cypher Corps sometimes but mostly do field work," I told her bashfully. No one really cared about the shinobi behind the scenes figuring out _where_ the bad guys were, only the ones who killed them.

"Could you explain a little? Back when I was a shinobi, we didn't have separate people like that. Either you worked in the Cypher Corps, or you didn't," she told me.

I gave her a surprised look, "You were a shinobi?"

"I still am!" she laughed, patting my back, "I never gave it up, just became a little busy with a family is all."

I sighed and tried not to frown, "I don't want a family if I have to ever stop being a shinobi," I told her.

"Some of us have different desires in life," she said, watching Neji spin out of an attack, "I had no desire to be a Jonin because it involved being out of my home much more often than I'd ever want. It meant no time for friends or family. I don't know how Neji keeps the balance, but he does. He went to dinner with his friends the other day. But he leaves home for longer than I'd like," she confessed.

I nodded, yanking back another kunai.

"I refused the offer of being a Jonin and continued to go on easier missions. Then I got married and I was called on less and less. Once my son was born, they put me on a different type of list that had my specialties written down, and if I was really needed they would call on me," she explained.

"Would you go if you were called on for war?" I questioned.

"Absolutely," she told me, "Now explain to me how your shinobi life works," she urged.

"Well," I started, throwing another kunai, "Three times a week I go to the Cypher Corps Headquarters and study maps and a few codes. I can't exactly tell you what I do."

"Well, you're only a young woman, 16, 17, maybe 18? How did you get such a secretive section of the shinobi world to bring you in?" she grinned. It seemed to enthrall her.

"Well, I'm just good a noticing things, I guess," I shrugged, "I see people's patterns and it's easy to figure out what they're like."

"What do you mean by that?" she prodded.

"Well, let's make a scenario," I suggested, "Man A and Man B are waiting in the doctor's office. I'll notice Man A watches every nurse go by, his eyes are always narrower than the average person, he has his arms crossed, and taps his foot without making much noise to bother others in time with the clock ticking. He's been to war 2 twice if he's older than 40, only once if under 40, he's wary of his surroundings because of it, he's hiding a kunai over the scar he got from one of the wars and he's right handed if he's tapping his right foot or vice versa and also counting the amount of time between each nurse passing because the scar he got was from a Gen Jutsu. Man B is staring out the window next to him, since he's sitting in the chair right next to the window. He's got his chin propped up on his hand and his legs crossed, and sighing every minute or so. He's completely still. He's anticipating seeing his girlfriend afterwards and is mad he has to get a checkup. He's anticipating that he'll have to get shots as well since he's so still; his muscles are almost tense. His sigh is a fear of needles. He doesn't want anyone to know and tries to be aloof about it. He'll often question when he last sighed and sigh again because he forgets so often. His legs being crossed means he isn't in the mood to be intimate with his girlfriend and will probably confide in her about the needles he got. So if I was an enemy out to destroy Man A and Man B, I'd find out who Man B's girlfriend is and question her about Man B's other fears. Man A would be easy to destroy once you figure out where his scar is because reinjuring it would instantly incapacitate him, making it easy to either take him prisoner or kill him."

Taking a look at Neji's mother's face, she was extremely lost and possibly horrified by my scenario. Like I usually did, I put my head down and focused on the target. Most of my fighting skills were long range anyway. Biting my lip after her not speaking for a full minute, I was afraid I'd deterred her from ever seeing me as a normal person.

"That takes real genius," she said after a moment, "I'm so impressed. How did you ever come upon noticing things? Did your parents train you that way? Or is it just your instinct?"

She gushed about it, so intrigued by it. But she must be used to it or something because Neji was simply a genius in all shapes and forms.

"No, I my parents never taught me like that," I told her quietly, "The real reason why I learned patterns was so I could figure out how to make the other kids like me. I'd watch everyone play during lunch break and try to imitate what other kids did to make others smile. But they all just ignored me. I wasn't like them. I wasn't top of the class smart, I wasn't bottom of the class funny, I wasn't all that pretty, there's nothing different about me and that seems to be the reason no one likes me. I'm too average. Nothing terrible has ever happened to me. I have both parents and they love each other, I have a brother and lots of cousins. I'm _the_ most average person you will find and no one wants to be friends with someone who isn't interesting. Naruto's the only one who was sort of my friend because I was the only one not mean to him in the academy. He's an extremely interesting person! He's been so many places and made friends with so many people and _made_ people care about him! And no one really likes my family because we keep to ourselves. The Hyuuga Clan is the largest and strongest and the Uchiha Clan was the most feared. Then the Yamanaka Clan is friends with everyone, the Nara Clan is revered for its life saving medicines… You never hear a word about the Yamamoto family. All our achievements are kept within the family. My cousin took out a whole band of thieves that were causing wars in southern Fire Country. But only my family knows that. We're supposed to keep modest, but he should be congratulated by everyone not told to hush and eat dinner."

I could barely breathe by the end of my speech. It was a lot to get off my chest, but Neji told me to just let it out. Just tell everyone what I was feeling and I was feeling angry at my family.

"Oh, you poor thing," she said, suddenly pulling my into a hug. I was caught very off guard and stiffened up, but she rocked back and forth gently until I relaxed in her grip.

"That was great," she said softly so only I could hear, "You got it all out and without a single tear. If I were you, I'd be a sobbing mess. You're such a strong girl."

"Well, I'm used to being ignored by now," I murmured, "After a while you just get sick of crying. Being happy is the only way people see someone as being approachable."

She just hugged me tight and didn't let go for almost 5 minutes. It was strange to be hugged for so long.

"Why did you hug me? You don't even know me. I'm just some weird girl staying in your house," I asked.

"Because you needed it, whether you knew it or not," she smiled kindly, looking back at Neji's match.

She looked at me suddenly a moment later, "What can you tell me about my son, Neji?" she grinned mischievously.

I looked him over as he fought his cousin almost effortlessly. But I saw how much effort he actually put into it.

"He leans away from punches towards the right side of his chest a bit more than he has to, and knowing how conservative he is with movement, it suggests it's from a previous wound," I told her. She nodded, explaining the injury he got when he went on the Sasuke's Retrieval mission.

"He also hides a kunai in his waist band behind his waist pouch. He thinks the pouch will conceal it better and it's in a spot that wouldn't affect his movement too much," I told her also.

"Well, let's see how right you are. Why don't you take it from him then?" she smiled deviously.

"I'll have to wait until after his spar," I said, contemplating how I could snatch it quickly.

"Do so whenever you feel the time is right," she told me.

So we waited. We waited almost two hours for him to finish his match with his cousin. It was amazing. His spins and attacks were so precise, not moving a centimeter more than he had to. He knew his cousin's next attack before he made it and anticipated which way he'd have to move to block it. He had many escapes planned for any type of attack and had many attacks planned for afterwards. I just wished my "genius", so-called by his mother, was as useful as his own. He applied it to the situation, learning technique after technique by just watching. My talent was the complete opposite. I'd watch a technique over and over, and I would know how it was performed, what weaknesses the person had, and their mentality. But I'd never be able to do the technique myself without extensive studying and practice. It was almost counterproductive. Neji's genius took him 10 steps ahead while my own took me 10 steps back. What use was I if I couldn't fight on my own?

"I know what you're thinking," his mother said, giving me a soft look. I didn't answer her.

"You're thinking about how different your genius is compared to Neji's, but you don't seem to be coming to the same conclusion as everyone else," she told me.

"How did you know?" I ask somberly, not understanding the last part.

"Because when I was an active shinobi, my specialty was facial reading," her tone sounding almost offhanded, "And your face is tell me you don't like the difference between yourself and Neji."

I shrugged, "His is applied and mine is perceptual. We both get it, but he goes and does it while I sit and ponder why the person does things. It's a useless trait."

"You see weaknesses, yes?" she asked, "Then tell me what Neji's partner's weakness is."

"His left knee. He injured it in a battle of some sort. He tries to stay off it when he spins," I said, playing with the wire in my hand, "But it's not like I can just go over there and kick him in the knee. He'd kill me before I got within 5 meters of him."

"Are you familiar with sling shots?" his mother asked me.

"My brother has one," I replied. She got up quickly and ran in the house, coming back with a child's toy sling shot. Shoving it in my hands, she grabbed some rocks from the ground and held them out to me.

"Hit him in the knee with a rock," she told me.

"But my aim isn't perfect. I'll miss him," I told her, trying to give it back.

"No, no, no, you practice shooting that target and once you think you can hit him in the knee, do it. Don't say a word. Just do it," she ordered. So I did. I plucked away at the sling shot and hit the target terribly. But the longer I tried it the closer and closer I got to the center of the target. And then I did it. He slowed his spinning from his rotating defense and Neji paused for a second to wait for him to stop completely and I let the rock fly. His cousin dropped to the ground before Neji, gripping his knee in pain suddenly. Neji looked around with confusion, but guarded. And then I did it again. When he turned to me, I hit him in his shoulder where his mother confirmed his scar was. He gripped it in pain, surprise almost visible on his face. He marched over and stood before me, not mad, though anyone else would perceive it that way. He was merely in a state of disorder. When he stopped in front of me, I pull him to me by the shirt and grabbed the kunai from behind his waist pouch and turned it to his back.

His face only a centimeter away from mine, he breathed his only question, "What are you doing?"

"I don't know," I whispered back.

I truly didn't know what I was doing. Why was I suddenly so combative? It was just all that his mother told me made me feel like I had to do it or she'd be disappointed. But I never knew I_ could_ actually do it. It never worked before, so why was this sudden adrenaline rush making my shots more accurate, my moves faster, and my mind quicker? It was adrenaline, I know, but usually my adrenaline bursts came with fear, not commands.

"It looks like you lose, honey," his mother said, referring to the kunai I had held just a hair away from his spine. He had an odd look when I pulled the kunai away and let it drop to the ground. Like he was scrutinizing a monster. He looked at me with a wary look, like I'd turned from a mild dog to a vicious wolf right before his eyes. But I had. I went from sitting on the side lines to taking down his cousin and forcing him to admit defeat with the kunai. His mother sat beside me with a grin on her face.

"You've never stepped back and observed yourself, have you?" she asked me. And that sent me into a whole flurry of questions and an almost fearful state. I could have killed him right now. _I_ could have done that. But that wasn't what I was like. I never attacked up close and personal. So confused and upset by the realization that I could have actually killed him though I seeming did it as one whole reaction instead of three carefully thought out steps, I scrambled to my feet by gripping the support beam and grabbing my crutches. No one stopped me when I rushed as fast as I could to my allotted room. Locking the door once inside, I lowered myself to the floor to think it all over and try to understand what was going on with me.

{Author's Note/ I put up two chapters at once today because I feel guilty for being a slacker when it comes to updating. I've just been really upset about what's all happening in the manga and how Neji may never come back. He's my favorite character in the whole series and I'm just praying he somehow doesn't _actually_ die ;_; Keep your favorite characters close, my lovely readers. Any one of the main characters could be next D; }


	10. I Understand Me Now

Neji

"What did you do to her," I demanded, coming back to the kitchen from Hanako's room, which she refused to let anyone into.

"I encouraged her to play upon the genius she was given, just like you have," she said from sitting at the table. She was thoroughly enjoying the damage she'd done for some reason.

"She won't let me into her room or talk to me. What did you say to her?" I demanded.

"Neji, sit. We need to talk. You obviously know nothing about this girl," she told me.

"That's because I don't," I told her as I took a seat across from her.

"This girl has brilliance beyond compare," she said with excitement, "She works for the Cypher Corps. While you were sparring with your cousin, she told me all about how she 'notices' things. Or that's what she called it. This girl has a talent for pin pointing weaknesses from the get go. She knew Hitoru had injured his knee before just by noticing how he didn't step down fully on it. She noticed how you leaned away when he attacked your shoulder and figured out you had a scar there. This girl has a talent that no one has ever seen outside of renowned clans."

"What?" was my intelligent response.

"She compares herself to you and sees your genius the opposite of hers. Her genius is in analyzing situations and finding sure fire ways to take out a person in one hit, while your genius is in powerful, utilized techniques that can take out a person in one hit," she explained, "They go side by side to the same conclusion, though she seems to think her talent is ineffective because it is mere thought."

"So, what? What did you do to make her turn on us?" I asked.

"I suggested she actually attempt her one-hit, take-down strategies. She is so used to reporting back to someone who is more capable than her, that she never thought she could do it on her own. Did you see how it all came together. She had you at knife point in less than a minute," my mother told me with delight.

"You've terrified her!" I shouted, it all suddenly making sense now, "How could you do that to her! Why didn't you tell her all that before she just went ahead and did it?! She's scared of her own power now! I know she isn't very strong to begin with, but you've put her into a position where she just did what you said and let loose! She was a breath away from killing me and she didn't even know it! She's lucky she was trained enough to stop just before actually hitting me!"

My mother looked at me with shock, "You really think she didn't know she had it in her to defeat you?"

"No! She doesn't know her own limits! She stopped thinking and merely attacked! And when she realized what she was doing, she froze up and reverted to analyzing the situation. She realized what she was doing was impossible, by her standards, and lost the focus. Mother, she wasn't trained like I was. Her family doesn't train their children. She never trains at home." I told her, trying to calm down. She didn't realize what she'd done.

"You used a training technique on her that she's never been introduce to. No one has ever pushed her limits to the maximum like you did, and it scared her to see how far she could really go," rubbing my face I remembered to address her statement before Hanako ran off, "And of course she's never analyzed her own abilities. That's not what the Cypher Corps would want. They want her as clueless, weak, and powerless as possible, so that she'll keep going back to them to tell them her plans."

"That worries me then," my mother replied with a furrowed brow, "They're holding her back because of what her mind is capable of and that is unfair to her. She sees herself as this pathetic thing and I won't stand for it. Her genius is to be praised, not abused."

"That's nice of you…" came a soft voice from the entrance to the hallway. Hanako stood on her crutches with lips pursed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I just…it started to all make sense when you were talking. How the Cypher Corps is using me for my plans. You proved I was capable of carrying them out when they made me feel like I couldn't, and no, I don't train at home. I don't train enough and Naruto has become too repetitive for it to challenge my skills," she said, looking at the floor, "I just want to thank you for showing me I am capable of carrying out my own plans. I can do the things I was made to think I couldn't."

"Your genius is not something useless, Hanako," my mother told her.

"It's something everyone would fear if they knew," I mentioned. Her lip quivered and I got up to help her sit down.

"I saw the way you looked at me, like I was a wild animal that could hurt you if you startled me. I didn't like being looked at like that…! People looked at Naruto like that since we were kids and it hurts…!" she sobbed.

"I'm sorry, Hanako, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," I told her, leaning down to give her a hug and let her cry on my shoulder. I should have never done that. I let my emotions slip out from all the uproar. I knew how to keep my emotions in check better than that. It was equally my fault she had run into the house with her tail between her legs with such fear. I sat down in the chair next to hers and let her cry until she felt better. After years of pent up emotion, I was almost glad every time she cried. She needed release before she exploded like the nights she came running to me for help.

"Why did you come in here in the first place?" I asked her when she calmed down, letting me wipe her face. She let me do it more willing each time.

"I wanted to say sorry for shutting you out…and I'm hungry," she murmured.

I gave a chuckle with a smirk and nodded, getting up to find something for her to eat. My mother gave me a thoughtful look, so I stopped smirking and got food for Hanako with a more monotonous manner. She always had extravagant ideas about what I thought from my facial expressions and I knew I'd never hear the end of that smirk the rest of the night once Hanako was back in her bed to rest.

Hanako

Neji offered them to me, but I declined, "I don't need the pills," I told him with a thankful smile.

"They may help you sleep better," he informed me though he put them away.

"I'll sleep just fine. I'm not weak," I insisted cheerfully, reaching out to turn off the side table lamp.

He grabbed my hand to stop me and gave me a serious look, "I'm not saying you are. I'm saying I know from experience that the pain medication will help you sleep through the throbbing soreness from just moving today."

Glancing to my foot, I nodded. I should have known he'd see I was in a constant pain even if most of the time I could push it out of my mind and continue on with the day. So I took the pills he gave me and laid down. Sleep was almost immediate but I remember reminding Neji not to forget to turn off the light before slipping off.


	11. They Bring the Darkness Back

Neji

"I still can't believe her parents did that to her," my mother sighed when I came into the sitting room and took a seat in the chair by the window overlooking part of the garden, "You could say some terrible things to me and I would never lay a hand on you."

She reached out, from sitting on the couch, and took my hand briefly. She was upset, I could tell. Today had been rough on us both. I knew it still upset her that my father was gone; it upset me as well. But we learned to live with it. We went through the day to keep ourselves busy, but still had him in the backs of our minds. After a while, I realized that only keeping in my heart the few fond memories I had of him would make the pain lessen. It would upset him if I obsessed constantly over his unjust death. But only to me was it unjust. It was what he wanted. At the time, that was the only way out for him. These days, I had discovered other ways out. In my mind, it would please him to know I thought of all the times he carried me around, and trained with me, and held me with my mother. My mother told me I was all he ever wanted. One son. One to go on and make the Hyuuga clan better by standing at Hinata's side and protecting her. Hinata promised me, like Naruto, that she would try her hardest to change the clan. Not for my sake, but for the sake of the future generations.

"I love when you have that look in your eyes," my mother said, smiling softly at me, "when you think of your father with that look, it makes me feel like I did a good job being a mother."

"You did a fine job raising me," I told her.

"Just fine?" she smirked. I rolled my eyes. She knew what context I meant by "fine."

"I loved reading the looks on your father's face. He would purposely not talk to me because of it," she chuckled, smiling off into space.

"I know," I said, glancing out the dark window.

A silence fell over the small, neutral colored room and I glanced from the window to my mother for a moment. She looked troubled, but I wasn't as good at reading faces as she was, so I had to ask.

"What's wrong?" I asked, reaching out for her hand. She didn't take it, which bothered me.

"I'm worried Hanako's parents will show up tomorrow," she told me quietly, looking at the floor.

My brows knitted together, "How would they know where she is? They can't have her back. Not yet. Maybe not ever," I said frigidly.

"Your uncle told me that they were looking for her and that the hospital may have told them where she was staying because she's under 18. They do have a right to take her back, Neji. We can't keep her here if her parents want her home," she said with woe.

"She can't go back to her abusers! That's not right!" my shout could probably be heard at the other side of the house. Jumping out of my seat, I turned my back to her with my arms crossed.

"I know, and I'm going to see Lady Hokage first thing in the morning. I want her to grant me or someone in our family guardianship, so we can protect her from her family" she explained.

"I won't let her go anywhere. She belongs here, where she's safe," I said, turning to face her.

A soft smile settled on her face, "You like this girl don't you?" she inquired.

"Any type of feelings I may have towards her are unimportant," I said stonily, keeping up my angered façade. I didn't know how I felt about her, only that I needed to protect her. No one deserved what she had been served in life.

"Alright, alright, keep the bull horns in, darling. You'll need them later if her parents show up," she said with a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips as she got up to leave.

Going to bed angry is bad for the body, so I stood in the room alone to collect myself before going to bed.

Hanako

"You don't have to carry me, really. I can just hop or something," I told him bashfully as he carried me to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Don't worry about it, and I'm sorry my cousins took your crutches. When I find out where they took them, they won't ever do this again," he apologized. When I woke up late this morning, I discovered my crutches weren't in the place I'd left them last night.

"Don't be too mad," I told him, "They're just kids."

"Crutches are not toys and they should know not to touch them. It's your only means of being able to get around," he scowled.

"I don't know, I'm pretty sure I'm getting somewhere without them," I joked with a grin.

He rolled his eyes and we entered the kitchen. He dumped me in the nearest chair and I waited happily for breakfast. They were all very early risers. I usually woke at 7 or 8, depending on the day. His entire family, even the children, we all awake and having breakfast at 5 in the morning. At the moment it was already 9.

"Where's your mother?" I asked, looking around. I wanted to ask her about her facial reading techniques, but Neji didn't answer. After a couple minutes, Neji sat across from me and placed a plate of eggs before me.

"Do you want to go home, Hanako?" he asked, looking at me intensely.

I didn't know how to answer, "Is…Is your uncle going to send me home?" I asked fearfully.

"No, I just want to know if you like it here or if you miss being with your family," he said quickly, realizing how upset the question had made me.

"I do miss my family, but I don't want to go back there right now. It's not a good time. I don't know if it will ever be a good time," I sighed, reaching for the sesame seed oil on the table.

"You can stay here for as long as you need," he said, quickly eating.

It was quiet a moment as utensils scraped plates and nothing but chewing noises could be heard, "I don't want to be a burden—"

"You're not a burden. You never will be."

"I just…I don't want to face my parents yet…" I murmured, nearly in tears.

"You don't have to," he stated firmly.

"I heard your family talking when you went to look for my crutches. They said they might come here today," I admitted.

He looked angry, so I pursed my lips, "I hate when they talk about things that don't concern them," he grumbled.

It was quiet again and I finished my breakfast. _How do I deal with this? I can't mooch off Neji and his clan for the rest of my life, but I can't go home. After this, they'll never accept me back. _I couldn't even take a mission to be away for a while and make a bit of money to live on my own. But out of nowhere, Neji asked me an odd question.

"If you were to have someone in my family be your guardian, who would it be?" he asked, avoiding eye contact.

I gave it some thought and realized where his mother was and what she was doing, "Your mother or your uncle," I replied with a soft smile when I waved my hand for his attention.

"Maybe even you. You're old enough. And I want someone who can protect me. You three seem like the perfect people to," I continued.

He nodded and cleared the table. He pulled me on to his back and we went outside to find my crutches. His family bustled around, ignoring us and each other completely. It was sort of sad to see how they breezed past one another without even saying a greeting or even locking eyes for a moment. We looked around the side of the house where the training targets were and worked our way around. Everyone kept pointing fingers at one another.

"Ask Haka or his brother."

"Probably Hito. He's a mischievous one."

"I didn't take them, ask Hanabi."

"I don't know, ask Hinata."

We stood in the front yard talking to one of Neji's older cousins, asking if they had seen someone take them. It was a relief to find they did know for sure.

"Oh, yeah, Hiromi took them. You'll probably find her—oh wait, there she is," she pointed to a young girl coming out of the house with my crutches. Neji briskly walked over and I was glad to have them back.

"Why did you take them, Hiromi. This is not a game. She needs them," he chastised with a cross look.

"I took them to put padding on them," she said, pointing to the dish towels wrapped around the under arm supports, "It hurts a lot after a while with no padding."

"You should have told someone," he lectured, "and you should have asked if Hanako wanted that."

"Well, I've been looking for you both all morning. I thought you were inside until someone said you were looking for them outside," she said with a frown, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. This feels much better," I told her, "And I like the colors."

The dark blue and grass green towels held in place by rubber bands were nice and squishy, taking the pressure off my shoulders a little.

"Don't tell her that, Hanako. She needs to know that it was unacceptable for her to take them without permission."

"Lighten up! It's a nice, chilly day! Let's go kick the fallen leaves!" I grinned, hurrying away on my crutches as fast as possible. He walked over as I stirred up the layer of leaves on the front lawn. I loved the crunching sound they made under my feet and crutches. Neji just stood there and watched me, but Hiromi joined in.

"I'm going to get a thermos of tea," he said, leaving me and Hiromi to our childish games.

"Sounds great!" I shouted after him. Hiromi and I made a pile of leaves and ran through it over and over. I hadn't had this much fun in a long time. Neji's cousins watched from afar, either focusing mostly on training or from standing on the porch. It was all fun and games until someone burst through the front gate. Glancing over at the loud sound, I saw my father with a fuming expression as he came towards me. My mother stood at the gate's entrance. I gasped and tried to rush away, but I felt him get closer. My crutches couldn't carry me fast enough. The older cousins quickly jumped into action to get the younger children inside. I screamed when my father grabbed for my hair. I tried to get away hastier and ended up tripping and losing hold of my crutches. He grabbed my hair in a fist and tried to drag me to my feet, but I only made it to sitting on them.

"Get away from her!" Hiromi screamed at him, but didn't dare come forward.

"Neji!" I cried out as tears burst from my eyes and gushed down my cheeks. Hiromi ran for the front door, but Lord Hyuuga burst out of it before she could get close. My heart was beating harder than a hammer on steel as my father wrangled me up from the ground and into his iron grip that held tight to my upper arm.

"Unhand her!" he ordered, coming down quickly from the porch. His yukata fluttered behind his swift movements.

My mother appeared at my side, but stood silently. She looked equally as angry.

"How dare you kidnap our daughter," she hissed.

"You're coming home this instant, Hanako!" my father roared. I just stood weakly on one foot as I sobbed. A lump in my throat stopped me from saying anything in protest.

"She's here on her own free will," Lord Hyuuga said, his arms crossed, "Unhand her."

"Hanako, is this true!" my father demanded of me. I could barely breathe, let alone speak. I was afraid he'd find out I had stayed because I wanted to, not because I was forced.

"Answer me!" he shouted at me, shaking my arm and squeezing it so tight I thought it might break.

I gasped for air to sputter out a remorseful, "Yes."

"You chose to reside with a clan you hardly know instead of your own family?!" he boomed. I nodded with a disgusting, tearful look.

Neji came out of the house with Hiromi tugging at his sleeve and he immediately ran down the stairs to come for me. But his uncle turned and caught him. Neji struggled to come towards my father and me, but his uncle held him steady, waiting for him to calm down. But within that time, my father landed a hard slap on my check, sending me face first into the ground. I didn't try to get up and merely wept on the ground, knowing he'd soon put me back on my feet to knock me down again. He grabbed the back of my shirt, but let go suddenly. When I looked up, Neji and his uncle had both palmed him across the front lawn and into the fence. My mother ran to help him up as Neji's mother came running in the gates. She shoved a paper into Lord Hyuuga's hands and swiftly got me back on my feet. Her hug held me up as I blubbered on her shoulder. She turned and pointed at my parents.

"Get out of here! Both of you!" she screamed at them.

"That is our daughter and we are taking her home!" my mother yelled back.

"She is no longer in your care!" Neji's mother yelled, tears working their way into her voice. She took the paper from Lord Hyuuga and threw it at them. Then she hugged me tight, weeping herself.

"She has been taken from your care and placed into ours," he said, crossing is arms again, "The paperwork has been signed by Lady Hokage herself."

"She said she had half a mind to take your son away too!" Neji's mother yelled at them, stroking my hair and whispering that everything would be all right. I held tight to her and hoped it would be. I couldn't breathe. My ankle screamed in pain. My chest was tight and I wanted to vomit on the spot. This was bad. It was beyond bad. It was a monstrous disaster. There was no fixing this. All my ties with my family would be cut. I was a humiliation and embarrassment to the Yamamoto name.

"Don't ever come home!" my father thundered, crumpling the paper and throwing it away before stomping out of the yard. My mother stood with horror, looking between my father and me. She didn't want this. She just wanted me home. But she hurried after my father, yelling at him to get me back. She burst into tears, but he ignored her, only grabbing her wrist and dragging her home.

I hiccupped and gasped for air as I cried on Neji's mother's shoulder. I wanted my mother. She knew this was wrong. But she had to listen to my father. All I had left was the Hyuuga Clan. And there was no telling how long that would last.

Neji took me from his mother's arms and nearly crushed me in a hug. He told me how angry it made him to see my father hit me. I just pressed my face into his shoulder and held myself up with his neck. Hiromi stood beside us with my crutches and a sympathetic look on her face. She patted my back and told me it was okay. I took my crutches again and just stood on my own in tears. I didn't care who saw; I didn't care what they thought. This was the single worst thing I had done in my entire life and there was no fixing it. But Neji's mother suddenly appeared in front of me.

"Stop this. Don't be upset about this. This is not your fault. It's their fault. They are abandoning you, not you abandoning them! You're a brilliant girl who can get by on her own! Don't cry, honey, don't cry. Let's wash your face off and get you in some pajamas. Come on," she said, leading me inside. I slowly did. As I sluggishly headed inside with everyone else, I felt my tears lessen. I found it easier to breathe. Neji stood right behind me, hands on my waist to help me up the porch steps. Hiromi held the front of my shirt and looked up at me to make sure I was coming. Neji's mother led the way. And I heard Lord Hyuuga lock the front door.

"You're home now, Hanako," he said before disappearing down another corridor.

It made me burst into a new kind of tears. Gratefully tears. They were all here for me. And that was exactly what I needed.


	12. Tears That Are Not My Own

Neji

"Don't you dare feel bad about any of this," my mother said as she washed off Hanako's dirt streaked face with a dishcloth as they sat at the kitchen table, "I went to the Hokage as early as I could and I ran all the way back. I knew they'd get here before I would. But I got the papers signed. Your legal guardians from now on are Neji's uncle and me. We're going to make sure you heal in a safe and pleasant environment. You're going to be better in no time at all. Don't cry another tear!"

Hanako nodded, her eyes still puffy and her nose still running. It brought back memories of her coming to me for help.

"I'm sorry I left you alone," I told her, sitting on her other side, "I should have never left the yard. The only person you should blame for this is me."

"I don't blame you…" she said in a raspy, teary voice as she reached out for my hand.

"I should have been there though! I just didn't want you to freeze outside, so I went looking for a jacket for you after getting the tea! I was stupid and left you vulnerable! That is not what a good shinobi does!" I answered, infuriated with myself, "That is not was a good _friend_ does!"

"Hanako, why don't you go see some of the children. They'll be worried about you. Some were watching from the window," My mother told her, helping her up to shoo her out. Hiromi was right there to take her to the playroom, asking if she was okay. I watched them disappear down the hall and then turned to my mother to ask if she was all right. She abruptly grabbed me in a hug, weeping into my shirt. To say the very least, I was terrified. What does one do when one's mother cries? I hugged her tightly back, trying to figure out what was going on.

"What's wrong, mother?" I questioned gently. She pulled away and roughly wiped at her tears.

"She didn't get up…!" she sobbed, collapsing into a chair at the kitchen table to put her head down in her arms.

I went to her, sitting down gingerly, "What do you mean?"

"She didn't move a muscle after her father slapped her down!" she yelled, her head shooting up from the table, "She knew he would grab her off the ground so he could hit her again! She just laid there and let him beat her!"

She sobbed more, but tried to hide it from me. I pulled her out of the chair and into a hug.

"I've never seen a man put his hands on any woman like I saw today! Not even in battle! He nearly put a fracture in her cheekbone from the force! He didn't hold back a bit!" she gasped for air, holding my arms as she distanced herself, "And the only reason it didn't fracture is because it's happened before and the bone became more resistant to breaking because of professional healing!"

I was petrified to hold my mother in my arms as she sputtered for air from sobbing so hard. I didn't know what to do! But after a few moments she got ahold of herself and took deep breathes.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that, Neji," she whispered, calmer now.

"It's okay—"

"No, it's not. I'm your mother. I'm supposed to have control over myself. I could have upset the children if they came in here and saw me in such a state," she said, cleaning up the kitchen. She always cleaned when she was upset.

"I want you to go lie down," I told her, taking the cleaning rag from her, "You need to take a nap and calm down. Everything is okay now. She's ours now. We can protect her now."

She nodded and left for her room. But it wasn't a full minute later when Hito ran into the kitchen in tears. He attacked my leg and hugged it as he wailed.

"What is the matter?" I asked, plucking him off my leg and holding him in midair at arm's length.

He bawled as he told me what was going on, "Hanako said her father hit her because she was mean to him but I didn't see her be mean to him! He just hit her! Neji nii-san tell her it wasn't her fault! She didn't do anything mean! Tell her! Tell her!"

I was surprised by what I'd heard from the small boy, so I followed him back to the playroom. All the children there were upset just like Hito, but she was nowhere to be seen. They begged me to tell her it wasn't her fault, but apparently she had retreated to her room. Going up the hall, I knocked on Hanako's closed door.

"Hanako? May I come in?" I asked, but got no response. The younger ones were crowded around, trying to open the door but I stopped them. My uncle came down the hall with more concerned children.

"I came to see how Hanako was doing," he said after hushing the children.

"Her door is closed," I told him.

As Head of the Clan he had authority to open any door in the house without knocking, so he opened the door slowly. He and I went in, telling the children to stay out in the hall and shutting the door behind us. We rushed over when we saw Hanako's pain pills spilled on the floor. She laid in bed, just at the brink of sleep.

"Hanako, are you all right?!" I shouted, shaking her with alarm as my uncle picked up the pills and bottle.

"The pills don't work… It still hurts…" she whispered before closing her eyes.

I turned to my uncle and we spilled the pills onto the end table.

"There's supposed to be 30 and she's taken 6 already," I said as we quickly counted the pills.

I eased myself down to sit with my legs crossed as I let out a sigh of relief with my uncle. There were still 23 pills. She'd taken half of the prescription dose. Putting my elbows on my knees, I put my face in my hands. She just wanted to sleep and not think about all of it. My uncle, surprisingly, sat on his feet besides me and put a hand on my shoulder. Looking at him, I sighed again.

"Do you think she'd really do that, Neji?" he asked with concern.

"I don't know," I replied, "I was afraid it all pushed her over the edge. She's tried so hard for years to hide that her parents beat her and her father publically struck her just a little while ago. It must have been humiliating for her."

"She's stronger than that," he told me as he got up, "You have nothing to worry about. I should have let you do as you wanted when you came out of the house. Perhaps he wouldn't have had a chance to hurt her on my watch. I take full responsibility for this. It wasn't her fault. She must have told the children that because she wanted it to be a lesson to them. But they know better."

"I don't know what to do with her. I have to protect her, but I'm doing a terrible job at it. It doesn't make sense. I'm better than this," I told him as I got to my feet as well.

He gave a brief smirk before turning his attention to the door. Hanabi looked in.

"Father, Lady Hokage is in the foyer. She wishes to speak with you and Hanako," she told us before closing the door again.

We both hastened our pace to leave the room and met our village's leader in the foyer. The children were running around her feet, excited to see her in person. She smiled as I shooed them to their mothers. After the last one was off to find his older sister, I turned to face my uncle and the Hokage.

"You may stay, Neji," she told me. I nodded silently and came closer.

"Where is Hanako?" she asked.

"She's asleep at the moment. There is no waking her. She took her pain medication and went to bed early. Today was a hectic day for her," my uncle told her as I remained silent.

"Is what the children said true about her parents coming by?" she asked.

Of course the children told her all about it. They knew to tell authority figures about anything bad that happened.

"Yes, it is true. And it's my fault for letting it happen. I knew they might stop by today, but didn't request Hanako stay in her room," he told her frankly.

"She wouldn't have liked it anyway. She is a restless kind of person, that girl. I'm almost sure she'd have disobeyed you anyway," she said with slight light heartedness, "I'm just upset no one ever saw this happening."

"We did see this happening. It is all our faults she was subjected to their wrath so many times. We saw the bruises and cuts but chalked it up to her being clumsy during training. We brushed it off and she had to suffer," I said resentfully. I was way out of line. My disrespectful tone and the fact I had spoken when not spoken to was enough to have earned me a harsh tongue lashing, but I was surprised by the answer I got in return.

"That is very true. We all could have put an end to it if we had cared more. Even I saw the bruises, but I didn't ask. I can see you really care about her," she said.

"She came to me before for help. But I did a horrible job of helping. I didn't ask questions because she didn't want me to, but I should have anyway. I let her get hurt the most. She came to me and I let her go back. But I'll protect her from now on. She won't leave my sight. No one will lay another hand on her," I promised her.

"I'm glad she has someone who will do that for her. But be careful Neji. People who let this happen to themselves will feel it's entirely their fault. She could fall into a depression if she thinks this way for too long," she told us.

"When the children questioned why her father had hit her, she told them it was her fault. That she had started the fight. But they all burst into tears and begged her believe them when they said she had done nothing wrong. They had watched from the windows and seen how she hadn't provoked her father one bit. I don't see her keeping such thoughts in her head for long," my uncle said.

He put a hand on my shoulder, "Neji watches over her nearly 24/7. I trust her in his care."

"I came here personally to make sure everything was all right. For the next couple days, I'd like to station an ANBU in the tree that sits by the fence to guard the house. Is that all right with you?" she inquired. He agreed.

"Have her at my office by lunch time tomorrow. I still wish to speak to her," the Hokage said as she took her leave. We agreed.


	13. Morning Chaos

Hanako

"Hanako, darling! Wake up! It's breakfast time!" someone said cheerily to me in a sing-songy voice.

Opening my eyes, I looked around blearily. Once I'd sat up and had a chance to rub my eyes, I saw Neji's mother standing next to the bed with a bright smile and wielding a rice spoon in one hand.

"Good morning! Ready for breakfast?" she asked, reaching out to me with her free hand. I stared at her and tensed.

"Breakfast sounds nice," I said, meekly taking her hand so she could help me to my crutches. Once they were under my arms, I waited for her to lead the way.

"Out, out, come on. You know the way, hun!" she said, shooing me out. I quickly exited the room and hurried down the hall. Turning the corner, I went through the archway to the kitchen. Neji poked at the scrambled eggs in the pan with a fork and a bored expression. He smiled when I came in, putting the fork on the counter and taking my arm to help me sit down. I winced.

"Are you all right, Hanako? You're very tense," he said with a concerned look.

"I'm fine," I said, looking at my empty plate.

"If this it about yesterday, don't worry about it. No one will say a word unless you want to talk about it. It's in the past," he said, patting my shoulder before getting the pan of eggs.

I was grateful for that. It was something I was very mortified by, but I knew his family wouldn't say anything to me about it. They were polite people. Sometimes even _too_ polite. Neji's mother came into the kitchen, hurrying over to the rice cooker to get the fresh, white rice. I watched her carefully as she came over with the bowl. She was focused on scrapping the rice off the sides and Neji was occupied by putting away the egg carton. When she came over she scooped a large heap of rice from the bowl and smacked it on my plate with a loud thwack. I half jumped, half threw myself to the floor and curled up on my side with my arms over my head, since my foot wouldn't let me curl up with my back to her. She yelped and dropped the bowl of rice and the rice spoon. I flinched and curled up tighter. Here it came. I anticipated the smack of a hand on my head or the kick of a shoe to my back, but it didn't come. Someone fell softly to their knees and a pair of hands touched mine over my head and over my ribs.

"I'm sorry!" I hollered, keeping my eyes squeezed shut and my muscles stiff. It didn't hurt as much if you were tense.

Suddenly, the hands disappeared and a body collapsed over mine. The person curled protectively over me and then two arms picked me up from the ground to hug me close. It was easy to pick me up from the floor and turn me to face them because my body was taut as a wire. Someone else stroked my hair. Cautiously opening my eyes, I found Neji holding me close. His mother stroked my hair tenderly.

"You scared us, Hanako," he told me when he noticed I'd opened my eyes. He shifted and turned so he sat on the floor and had me curled up in his lap. I was used to the position by now because that's how he carried me all the time, so I grabbed his neck instantly and hid my face again.

"Hanako, I didn't mean to startle you. Please tell us you're okay, honey," she begged.

"You're angry at me…" I whispered.

"No, honey, no! I'm not mad at you! Why would you think that?" she begged, stroking my hair again.

"You…You slammed the rice…o-on my plate…" I said, turning my head to see her face. She looked dreadfully upset.

"I only did that to get the rice off the spoon, dear," she said, wiping away the tear trailing down my face, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little bit jumpy from yesterday," I told her.

"Don't apologize, this isn't your fault. Did your mother used to beat you with a spoon?" she asked. I gave a nod.

"You're safe here," Neji said, picking me up and carrying me back to the table. He wiped my face with a small smile and put a hand on my head.

"You are safe here," he repeated before going to clean up the explosion of rice on the floor.

"I could help you clean it up. It's my fault. I made the mess," I told his mother and him as they cleaned up the floor.

His mother laughed like I'd never seen someone laugh before. I couldn't understand why until she told me.

"Are you kidding! That was hilarious! It was like the TV shows! The rice flew out of my hands like it had wings and almost hit Neji!" she laughed, grabbing me in a hug, "Oh, I would have baked you a cake if it had hit him! Can you imagine Neji with a face full of rice?!"

I couldn't help but laugh too. It felt good. Neji only rolled his eyes though a smirk was being held back.

Once everything was cleaned up, we tried again to have a nice breakfast. Neji told me about how the Hokage came to see me yesterday, but wanted me to come see her to talk today. Earlier this morning, I would have been extremely upset by it, but now I just smiled and nodded. I understood we needed to talk about what happened.


	14. Calm Before the Rain

Hanako

"Do you think she'll be upset with me, Neji?" I asked him as he carried me on his back to the Hokage's office at the academy. It amused me how his cousins figured a way to strap my crutches to my own back, so he wouldn't have to carry them.

"No, why?" he asked with confusion.

"Because I let this happen," I sighed.

"It's quite the contrary," he said calmly, "She's mad at everyone else, including herself, for seeing it but never asking if you were okay."

"Was it really that obvious?" I frowned.

"It was obvious now that we look back on it, but we never would have assumed what was going on at the time," he told me comfortingly.

"But it's still my fault—"

"No."

"But just a little—"

"No."

"Just a smidge—"

He shook me from side to side and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Completely, 100% not your fault. Understand?"

"But—"

He shook me from side to side again and I held his neck tighter, laughing wholeheartedly.

"Okay! Okay! I get it! It's not my fault!" I laughed.

He stopped shaking me and squeezed the backs of my knees, which were cupped in his hands.

"It takes a strong person to say it," he said, glancing at me as I rested my chin on his shoulder, "You don't know how good it is to hear you say that."

"Can I tell you a secret, Neji?" I asked, looking forward at the road ahead of us.

"Of course," he said back.

"It feels good to say it…" I whispered.

He chuckled. Suddenly, someone screamed my name and an orange blur came running at us. Just as suddenly as he appeared, Naruto had us in a tight hug, his hands on my back with Neji squished between us.

"I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE OKAY HANAKO! HINATA TOLD ME ALL ABOUT IT AND DON'T WORRY! WE'RE GONNA TAKE CARE OF YOU! LEAVE IT TO ME! DATTEBAYO!" Naruto screamed excitedly.

Hinata caught up and convinced him to let go of me and a very ticked off Neji.

"We have to meet the Hokage soon, Naruto. We don't have time for your nonsense. Her business is none of yours," he lectured, "And you shouldn't be telling others Hanako's business Hinata. You know that is rude" he said, turning on her.

"Leave them alone Neji," I said, pinching his nose playfully and chuckling, "I'm fine with it. My friends deserve to know."

I couldn't have been happier that I could say "my friends".

"We're going to be late," he said indignantly, hurrying along.

"WE'LL SEE YOU LATER HANAKO!" Naruto hollered after us.

We arrived at the academy and Lady Hokage was already waiting outside in the courtyard while class went on. I unfastened my crutches and Neji put me back on my feet.

"You can wait here, Neji," she told him, leading me over to the swing that hung from the tree.

Once I was seated, the pressure was on. My muscles tensed and I didn't know what to say.

"How is your foot, Hanako?" she asked kindly.

"It doesn't hurt too much. It's healing fine, I think," I told her, eyes glued to the ground.

"Have Neji's mother look it over soon," she advised.

"All right," it was quiet a moment after that.

"You don't have to be afraid to talk to me about this, Hanako," she told me, "I'm not mad at you, or upset with you, or anything like that."

"Please don't punish my parents," I begged her, looking up at her so she could see the pleading in my eyes.

"Why shouldn't I?" she wanted to know, "They put one of my best shinobi in the hospital for no good reason."

"It was for a good reason. I was talking back and disobeying. I'm supposed to listen to my parents. That's my duty as a child. But I think I had a good reason to disobey. I don't want to marry at this age. I'm too young. I have so much I want to achieve before having a family, if ever. You've accomplished so much and you never married or had children. No one is mad you don't have children. I want to be like you," I explained to her.

She smiled and ruffled my hair, "You do have a lot ahead of you. I look forward to one day promoting you to ANBU and then to ANBU Captain. Perhaps even Head of the Cypher Corps."

"I want to talk about that. I want to stop working for the Cypher Corps. They're stunting my growth as a shinobi. I always thought that the plans I've come up with were never executable by me. But staying with the Hyuuga Clan just these few days has showed me how much I really can do," I told her confidently. I didn't want to hide behind anyone anymore. My plans were my ideas; therefore, I wanted to be the one doing the work.

"They haven't let you execute any of your plans?" she asked with surprise.

"Not one. But I never asked," I told her quietly.

"I'll talk to them about it. I want you on those missions. If something goes wrong, you should be there." She said, her brow furrowed.

It surprised me how disconnected the Hokage and one of her military forces seemed to be.

"Well, I'll let you go after one more question, Hanako. I can see Neji's getting antsy standing over there with you so far from him," she chuckled. I squinted with confusion. _What does she mean by that?_

"What? He's just upset Naruto hugged him because he was hugging me, but he got stuck in between," I clarified.

"Hanako, is your brother in any sort of trouble by staying with your parents? Do they beat him too?" she asked seriously, ignoring what I'd said before.

"What? Oh, no. No, he's perfectly safe with them," I told her.

"Do not lie to me, Hanako. This is serious," she answered.

"I assure you, Lady Hokage. He's safe. My father loves my brother. He's never laid a hand on him," I said, looking at the ground, "My brother is his favorite. He does nothing wrong in his eyes. Admittedly, I am jealous of my younger brother and how my father's love for him is unconditional."

I bit my lip, close to tears. That was something I had never admitted aloud before and it hurt to know how true it was.

"Taking my brother out of my parents care would be more trouble for everyone. My father would fight until the day he died to get him back," I said, trying not to cry.

Lady Hokage put a hand on my head and gave me a comforting look that said she appreciated me.

"That's all I need to know for now," she said, nodding and giving Neji a signal to come over. He was by my side almost instantly, helping me back to my feet.

"Would you like me to carry you home?" he asked. My foot throbbed from falling on the floor this morning, so I agreed.

"Have fun kids," Lady Hokage said as Neji walked us home. He always walked briskly, which amused me. It was like he knew exactly where he was going and that he needed to be there ten minutes ago, but also knew that everyone would wait for him to arrive first before doing anything. I liked that about him. Some saw him as arrogant. I saw it more as him knowing where he was going in life.


	15. Grassy Dusk

Neji

"So where's Hanako?" Kiba inquired when I showed up to meet with our friends. We decided to just hang out and talk at the wooded edge of the park in the middle of town.

"Yeah, you never leave her side these days," Ino added.

"She is home taking a bath and going to bed early. One of my younger cousins bumped her foot when she was playing with them after dinner and she decided to bathe and go to bed early. She really did want to come, though," I said, taking a seat in the dry grass with everyone else.

Sakura and Ino were making flower chains while Kiba and Tenten rubbed Akamaru's stomach. Lee had Hinata help him fix the bandages on his hand and Naruto had a staring contest with Choji. Shikamaru laid back on the ground while Shino explained the importance of fireflies to some cultures outside of Konoha, which was actually pretty interesting when I had listened in for a moment.

"Where are Sasuke and Sai?" I asked Naruto once he lost his competition against Choji.

"Sasuke didn't want to come, but I'm pretty sure he'll show up later. And Sai was working on a piece of art earlier, so he may not come," he explained before calling out Kiba as his next opponent.

Everything was peaceful. No one was making much of an argument over anything and the sun had left the sky, bathing the world around us a bluish hue. Some people had brought flashlights or lanterns to keep it possible to see each other in the darkening dusk and the conversation had settled on a pleasant topic that we all could talk about. For once, our meeting didn't involve screaming or the beating up of Naruto at any point, or at least yet. It was tranquil, and comforting, to be able to see all our friends in the times which our lives weren't busy with work and missions. I was appreciative of the week the Hokage had granted me off duty to care for Hanako at the beginning of her recovery. Only she knew how much both of us really needed it. I listened to Lee telling me about a new technique he'd heard about on a recent mission when Naruto broke the serene atmosphere.

"HANAKO, YOU CAME!" he screamed, jumping to his feet while picking up Hinata with him, since she had been sitting in his lap a moment ago.

"Yes, I came," she chuckled as Sasuke helped her along with one arm over his shoulders.

"I thought you were going to bed, Hanako," I said, jumping up to help her. Sasuke handed me one of her crutches before going to sit slightly away from the loose circle we'd made.

"I was going to, but I decided I should have went with you to see everyone," she told me with a bashful smile, "So I started to walk here. Sasuke saw me and helped me."

"What's wrong? Are you okay? Did you hurt your foot more?" I asked, scooping her up to help her sit down.

"No, my crutch is just acting funny. I don't know what happened," she said with a grin, patting my shoulder, "I didn't want to sit in the middle of the road and examine it all night, so I tried to walk with one crutch. Sasuke saw me and helped me."

I looked over and found the notch on one crutch had been lowered somehow, probably from the children messing around with them. I fixed it and placed them in front of her.

"What about your foot? Is it still throbbing from Hito bumping it?" I questioned with concern.

"It's fine Neji!" she laughed, "I can push away the pain for a little bit to come see friends. I promise to let you take me back in half an hour. Okay?"

"Fine," I sighed with defeat.

We looked around and everyone was staring.

"Aw, that's so cute! You're like an old married couple!" Ino cooed.

Hanako blushed, "Neji's just worried about my pain is all."

"W-We all are," Hinata added. Everyone instantly agreed.

We began our normal conversations again, but Hanako didn't talk. She just looked around. Our friends tried to engage her in conversation, but she didn't make it easy for the dialogue to last very long. She was doing what she did best: observing. It was slightly unnerving to know she was secretly unraveling our weaknesses within her mind as she watched us. Just a simple gesture told her all our darkest secrets we never wanted anyone to know. But I had to stop thinking like that. I refused to continue to see her talent in a negative light. She also had to be studying our behaviors and our mentalities. She would probably know exactly how to comfort a troubled friend and know what to do to make each of us happy. She could be anyone's friend, easily adapting to her counterpart's needs. Why no one had seen that before was depressing.

Hanako suddenly moved from my side and crawled on her hands and knees to the person on her other side. She shooed Shino over a bit with a friendly motion and smiled when he complied. Then she pointed at Sasuke, who sat just a little bit out of the circle, picking grass and speaking to no one. Everyone became silent and watched. He noticed her gesture and she patted the spot between Shino and herself. Her answer in return was a blank stare. She stared right back. After a moment, she pointed again to him and then the spot. He shook his head and went back to twirling the blade of grass he had in hand, avoiding her eye contact. She crawled over to him and tugged on his pant leg, still remaining silent. He glared and moved his legs away from her. They stared at each other for a while and everyone slowly lost interest, but I kept my eyes on her. I couldn't have him getting irritated at her and trying put his hands on her in anger. She sat on her bottom and watched him, mimicking his distraction of plucking grass. Then suddenly she was on her knees and threw herself at him. He grunted when he landed on his back as she hugged him. Everyone was quiet, waiting for him to shove her off. But he stayed still as she hugged him tight.

"We're so glad you're back," she said tenderly.

He glanced at her for a moment as she refused to let go and awkwardly patted her back.

"Thanks," he muttered as he sat up and pried her off him.

Looking at everyone else, who all had stunned looks plastered on their faces, she grinned, "I think everyone needs to give Sasuke a hug."

It took Naruto 0.00001 seconds to comply with that wish and he jumped on Sasuke to hug him too. Sasuke shoved him off, but a smirk played faintly on his lips. Slowly Sakura got up and went to hug him, telling him how grateful she was to have him back. Ino did the same once Sakura released him. Choji got up and pulled Sasuke up from the ground into a back breaking bear hug. He said he was glad he'd come back too. Sasuke slowly accepted everyone's gratitude of his return easier with each person. Not everyone hugged him, but everyone showed their appreciation one way or other. I shook hands with him and told him I was pleased to see one of Konoha's shinobi with great potential come back to us. It was hard to say it to him, not knowing him well, but it seemed to satisfy him. After all that, he willing joined the circle, taking the spot Hanako offered him. They spoke for the rest of the time we stayed.

"I do remember you being in my class in the academy," he told her as I listened in, "You sat in the front row on the end all the time."

"You always sat in the middle," she recounted with a chuckle.

"There was no escape, so why should I have bothered" he asked her, smirking, "What was your class rank?"

"I was number 36 out of 139," she said shyly.

"That can't be right. You were smarter than that," he retorted with confusion.

"I didn't exactly put all my effort into my work at the time," her fingers played with the grass distractingly.

"What do you do now?"

"I was just recently promoted to Jonin and I work off and on for the Cypher Corps."

"Congratulations."

"It's nothing. Many of our friends have made Jonin years ago."

"Unfortunately, my punishment when I came back was to remain a Genin. I'll be in the next coming Chunin exams though."

"Oh, wow! I hope you do well!"

"Thank you for what you did just a bit ago. I guess I did need a bit of reassurance that our friends even wanted me home."

"Oh, of course! Everyone missed you."

"That's not true."

"Okay, I'll give you that. Some in the village were not happy, but all of us wanted you back. And that's all that really matters, right?"

"…I guess you are correct."

"Hanako, we should be heading home now," I interrupted.

"Aw, don't leave yet!" Naruto whined, holding tight to Hinata, knowing the usual was if I left, she left too.

"Hanako needs to rest and someone needs to walk her home. Hinata doesn't have to come," I glowered at him.

"You should ask Hanako if she wants to leave," Ino sassed, a glare aimed at me.

"No, no, he's right. It's about time I get home. My foot _is_ still bothering me," Hanako assured them all.

She reached up to me for help to her feet. There were more complaints that her stay had been too short, but I reminded them she wasn't even supposed to be here, so they should be grateful.

"I hope to see you all soon," she smiled, happy her crutches worked once again.

"We'll all come visit you as often as possible!" Choji managed to say between mouthfuls of chips.

I very much hoped none of them showed up at the Hyuuga Compound.


	16. Intruder?

Hanako

"Hanako, you have a visitor," Neji said, almost in a grumble the next afternoon.

"Okay," I said, putting down the book I had been flipping through to occupy my bored mind. Sitting in bed all day was not something I liked to do often, but it was what his mother instructed me to do.

I smiled at Neji and reached up for his help. He brought my crutches over and helped me up with a slight frown. So I pulled him into a hug. He looked like he needed one badly.

"Thanks for doing so much for me, Neji," I told him with a tight squeeze to his torso.

"I can't imagine it any other way," he said back.

He led me to the front door and I saw Sasuke standing by the fence. Neji helped me down the steps of the porch and leaned to whisper in my ear.

"Would you like me to stay out here and wait for you? Or would you like me to go back inside?" he asked politely.

"Whatever you want to do," I told him.

He nodded and headed over to the training grounds on the side of the house, so he was far from ear shot to give us privacy but close enough to still be able to keep an eye on me.

"Hi, Uchiha-san," I greeted, going up to the fence.

He scowled for a moment before replying, "Don't call me that. It's too formal. You know me."

"I'm sorry, I just thought—no, I should have asked first," I chided myself.

"Don't be upset with yourself," he said quickly, a kinder look on his face, "I should have told you I didn't like to be called that yesterday. It isn't your fault. Just blame me."

"Well, so there isn't any confusion, I want you to call me Hanako, okay?" I asked.

He nodded, "How are you feeling?" he inquired after.

"Much better, actually. Neji's mother is a nurse, so she healed my ankle a bit this morning and I feel like I could just run up and down the halls of the house all day," I smiled.

"How long did the doctor say you would have to stay off it?" he queried with a curious countenance.

"6 to 8 weeks, which isn't extremely long," I told him with confidence.

He looked at the ground for a moment before looking at me again, "I'm…I'm sorry I didn't visit you in the hospital like everyone else. I didn't think you would think of me as a friend and decided not to intrude."

"It's okay, I didn't think everyone else thought of me as their friend, so I was very surprised," I divulged to him with a soft look.

"Why would you think that? You're the nicest person in this entire village. You're like Lee. Never unhappy," he countered.

"I am unhappy sometimes, but aren't we all?" I supposed.

Sasuke glanced away fretfully again, "I came to…to give you these," he said, raising his hands from behind the fence and holding up a card and a handful of dandelions.

"Oh, thank you," I grinned, taking them, careful not to drop them or my crutches.

"I was afraid Ino would question me about buying flowers, so I just picked some from the side of the road… I know they're weeds, but I just didn't want anyone to know I came by. Unfortunately, I had to make the card myself too, so it's very poorly made," he told me, somewhat of a blush on his face.

"I appreciate them even more now that I know they were handpicked and handmade," I smiled, "I really like yellow too."

"I also wanted to thank you about last night. I know I thanked you last night too, but I just really want to thank you. Naruto and Sakura have been trying to get me to see everyone is happy I'm back, but you just really knew how to make me feel welcome," he explained.

"Sasuke-san, when you left, everyone was upset. Even people who didn't know you all the best like me. Some were upset because we lost a friend, some were upset because we lost a great shinobi, and some were upset because of where you were going to deal with the problems you had on your mind. But we all sat here and crossed our fingers, waiting for you to come back. Even the Hokage. She didn't want to put you in the bingo book, but she had to for protection of the villages. Just because you were associated briefly with some awful people doesn't make you responsible for what they did," I reached over the fence and pulled him into a hug. Everyone needed hugs today. But I wasn't complaining.

"Thank you, Hanako," he told me when I let go.

"Anytime. I like making people feel better, especially when it's not their fault," I made sure he knew.

"And…you can call me Sasuke or Sasuke-kun if you like…" he shrugged bashfully, "A lot of girls call me that already, so I'm not against you using that if you want."

"If that's what you want, then that's what I'll do," I beamed.

"How can you be so eager to please?" he asked quietly, "Doesn't it weight you down?"

"Not at all. Pleasing people makes them happy, and if they're happy, then I am happy too," I informed him.

"Never stop being like that then," he said, a small smile tucked into the corner of his mouth. He knew I could see it, but probably didn't want anyone else to.

"Sasuke-kun, will you tell me about you and your brother?" I asked timidly, a soft smile on my own face.

"Like what?" he asked, looking at the ground again.

"Like…if you were close or…something he'd do for you. Something nice," I asked of him.

"We were very close. Then…that night happened and everything changed. But really he was just protecting me and I was the one who disgraced our family and our village," he said somberly.

"It must have been nice to be close with your brother," I tried to fix what I'd done. I'd only meant to remind of him a nicer time, not all the things that had happened after it.

"Do you have siblings?" he questioned.

"I have a younger brother, and no we aren't very close," I answered his next question as well.

"Aren't you worried your father will hurt your younger brother though?" he probed inquisitively.

"No, my father loves my brother more than anything. It's me he hates," I said with a smile.

Sasuke didn't like that, "Don't smile about that. You should be mad."

"There's a lot of things I should be," I told him, "Angry, upset, hurt…but I don't want to be. I have so many friends that love me, and I know my mother loves me, and I have Neji's whole family too. Being mad and upset all the time would be a waste of energy because I know I have people who love me."

"I wish I could have seen that when I was younger," he exposed a bit of his humiliation.

"Well, the past is the past. We have greater things ahead of us than the pain we've experienced before. You choose to be aloof to cope with your pain, and I choose to be always happy to cope with mine," I poked his cheek with my finger as I held tight to his card, trying to lure a smile out of him too. It worked fleetingly and I was happy with just that, laughing at the way his face twitched back to its normal, blank look.

"In 6 to 8 weeks, would you like to train with me?" he asked with hope in his eyes.

"I'd love to," I beamed once more before we said our good byes. He promised to visit another time next week.

Neji came over as soon as Sasuke disappeared and I showed him my handful of flowers. Looking over the hand written card, the flowers on front were that like his cousins had done with novice butterflies landing on them. The inside was an apology for not seeing me sooner and a get well wish. I let Neji carry me inside, leaning my head on his shoulder. Standing there had made me tired and Neji's warm embrace made it easy to take a nap right there.

Neji

Sasuke may have been able to make her laugh easier than I could, but he'd never know what it was like to hold her in his arms like I did. To have her fall asleep because she felt so safe to. I sat on her bed and held her a moment longer before putting her under the covers for a nap before dinner. I hadn't realized until someone had intruded on what I had secretly hoped was only mine. A certain away she smiled at me and the way she hugged me had felt like a world that no one else knew. But she had shown it to Sasuke because he was broken like her and it suddenly hit me like a brick. I didn't want to share her attention or affection or care with anyone else, but also I wasn't sure if I liked her or not still. I knew that she was _my_ friend first, but I couldn't see myself ever dating her or anything. It felt wrong. Like I was taking advantage of her being here. I left to my room conflicted and held a bit of hatred for myself for not knowing what to do.


	17. The Light Hurts Sometimes

Hanako

It was the first time I actually got to eat dinner with most of Neji's family. He'd woken me up, offering me the choice of eating now with his family and himself or taking my pain pills and eating later. I opted for food sooner than later. Pulling him to sit on the bed, I forced him to give me a piggy back ride. But instead of taking me to my crutches, he just left the room. He said it was easier for him to just carry me than to have to worry about where to put the crutches during dinner.

"Where should I sit?" I'd asked, "I don't want to mess up the seating arrangement."

"Your position at the moment within the family is after Hanabi, my uncle being your guardian for now," he'd told me.

I frowned at the thought that his family was seated by their rank in their family. That wasn't what family was about. The table was big and some of his family wasn't present. No one under the age of 12 seemed to be there and there weren't an equal amount of parents to children at the table, taking into consideration that each pair of adults would have somewhere between 1 to 3 children. Neji sat at the opposite end of the table, his mother at the head of that end while his uncle sat at the head of my end. Dinner was nearly soundless. No one said a word. Everyone ate their share, not even asking for seconds. They didn't even look at each other half the time. It was so sad.

"…Who made all this?" I asked after 15 minutes of silence.

Everyone looked at me blankly before a handful of people raised their hands in a very proper manner.

"Thank you so much. It's really good," I tried to tell them with a smile.

All I got in return were stares and blank looks. It was extremely uncomfortable, but I forced myself to keep my smile.

"…Did everyone have a nice day?" I tried again, trying to elicit at least an answer this time.

I wasn't given the luxury of a reply, but more stares went on. I could feel my smile fading a bit, so I said something one last thing.

"You're all very tolerant of me. Thank you so much for helping me."

I wasn't even granted a nod. Keeping my smile, I finished my dinner quickly and mumbled a pardon so I could leave the table. No one said good bye or wished me a good evening. I wasn't even asked to take my plate to the kitchen. I smiled at each person who glanced at me as I hobbled out. Neji tried to get up and help me, but I told him I'd be fine.

"You should finish your dinner. Don't worry about me. There's no trouble for me to get into at the moment," I chuckled and hopped towards the hall.

I heard Neji trying to come after me, but his uncle told him to sit down; that I was capable of getting back to my room myself. I even heard him chastise Neji for not bringing my crutches. Once I was out of sight, I let my smile drop. There was so much tension within the family. I couldn't understand it. How could a family sit at a table together and not say one word to even their sibling? Their hole-boring stares also reminded me of my childhood. It seemed like his whole family found me an inconvenience, and I knew I was. I didn't belong there and just shoved my problems upon them. Was I worthy of their help? I didn't think so, and it didn't feel like they approved of my prolonged stay either. I was just entertainment to them and now that I wasn't entertaining anymore, they had no interest in me. Stopping at my door, I looked at the door to Neji's room. It was almost never open. I'd only seen it open and close briefly when he came out. It made me wonder if he even slept. Maybe he just sat in there all night waiting for the sun to rise. Going into my room, I got my crutches and headed back out into the hall. Hesitantly, I crossed to Neji's door. I really wanted to talk to him privately. I felt like I was slipping back into my old ways, acting happy even when I wasn't, and I didn't know if it was okay to do that now. So going into his room, I went to sit on his bed and wait to talk to him. It was interesting to see all of his things were neat and in order except for his bed. The covers were left a mess and the pillow case was half off his pillow. Fiddling with my fingers, I patiently waited for him to come in so we could talk. He'd know I was in here because I'd left the door slightly ajar.

Neji

I was irritated with my family for not even attempting to help Hanako feel welcome. She was from a large family, not a clan, so she didn't know how our family worked just yet, but they could have at least answered her. My uncle accompanied me to her room. We needed to explain to her that dinner was a relaxing thing where everyone just enjoyed each other's company and didn't speak. Opening the door to her room, I didn't see her.

"She's not in her room," I said, a coil of uneasiness twisting inside me.

"She's probably just using her bathroom," he said, going in and knocking on the door.

There was no answer. Not even when we both asked for her. Cautiously opening the door, we found she wasn't there either. The coil wound tighter in my chest.

"Her crutches are missing," I said, staring at the spot they should have been.

"Perhaps she went for a walk," my uncle suggested, trying to keep me calm.

Quickly, we left the room and headed for the nearest exit that Hanako knew about. There were no foot and crutch prints and neither of us saw her when scanning the area. The coil was twisting tighter each passing second that she was missing. What if her family sent someone to get her? What if she fell and hurt herself more? What if she left because she felt bad about what happened at dinner? The house was thrown into a frenzy as we all searched the compound for our missing guest. Doors were opening and slamming, people were scrambling to check closets, and bathrooms, and the tool shed at the back of the house. No one could find a trace of her. The coil was about ready to snap as I ran up and down halls, yelling Hanako's name.

"Hanako! Hanako, where are you! Hanako! HANAKO!"

Turning the corner, I saw her using the wall as support as she balanced on one leg. Her face was filled with confusion and panic. The coil snapped at the sight of her.

"Neji, what's going on—" I cut her off, running to her and grabbing her up from her feet. Picking her up and holding her tight, she slowly reacted back and hugged my neck with her legs wrapped around my waist.

"Neji, what's wrong? What's going on? Is everyone okay?" she asked, clinging tight with fear. My family gathered and stood silently around us.

"Hanako, where were you?" my uncle asked, trying to seem like he hadn't been in as much turmoil as I was while looking for her.

"I was in Neji's room, waiting to talk to him after dinner. I thought he'd notice his door was ajar and come in," she explained.

I felt her stroke my hair and knew she had a worried look, "Why didn't you use your Byakugan to find me?"

"The walls in this house are made so none of us can see through them," my uncle explained.

I was too shaken up to speak. The relief I felt to have her safe in my arms was unmatched by anything. So many terrible things had run through my head as I searched for her and if she'd not heard me calling for her, I would have crumbled into who knows what on the floor and have had a heart attack. By now, my lack of speaking was scaring her.

"Neji, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset everyone. I just thought that since you go to your room after dinner every day… I'm sorry…" she said on the verge of tears.

"It's okay, we can talk. It's okay," I said, walking towards my room, "Don't cry, you're not in trouble."

I begged her not to cry because that would make two of us.

Hanako

Neji put me on my feet and turned quickly to his desk to fix the already neat papers. I sat down on his bed and watched him rub his face as he turned to me.

"Are you okay, Hanako?" he asked tiredly.

"I'm fine, thank you," I answered unthinkingly, wondering if _he_ was okay.

"Look, Hanako," he said, turning his desk chair and sitting in it, "No one meant you disrespect at dinner tonight. We all don't talk much during dinner. It's a sort of relaxing time to just eat and be calm."

I nodded at his explanation, "It just seemed so tense. I didn't mean to offend anyone."

"You did nothing wrong," he said with his arms crossed.

"Your body language says the opposite…" I murmured.

He was acting very weird these days. His body language never matched what he said. His words were kind but his body revealed caution towards me.

"Hanako, you know I always sit like this," he justified himself.

That was very true. His mannerism was always very cautious and closed.

"What did you want to talk about," he urged, bringing his chair closer.

"I…Just about dinner. We've talked about it, so I should go," I said, reaching for my crutches.

He kicked them so they fell to lay on the floor and kept an intense gaze on me.

"I'm fine, really," I insisted.

"No, you're not."

"Neji, I'm okay," I said, giving him a bright smile.

He glared, "Stop that," was his gruff command.

I let my smile fade as he kept a firm stare aimed at me, "I guess going back to always being happy isn't an option."

"Forcing yourself to always be happy and always being happy are two different things," he said in a milder voice.

He reached over and took my hand. Glancing at our hands and back at him, I nodded wearily. What he didn't know was I didn't know how to be truly happy. It was something I felt fleetingly.

"I want to be happy, Neji…!" I said, bursting into big, wet tears.

"You will be…" he whispered when he reached out and hugged me, "Don't even think you won't be."

"You make me happy…" I said through my tears, "Your family makes me happy…Naruto makes me happy, food makes me happy, puppies make me happy…"

I'd started to list the things that made me happy, but I was slowly running out of things to say.

Neji picked up my slack, "All our friends make you happy, the sun shine makes you happy, sleeping definitely makes you happy, children make you happy, and there's lots more that makes you happy. But we don't have time to list it all."

He stroked my hair and I hugged him tight to try and keep in fresh tears. I knew that I had so many things that made me happy; so many people who wanted me to be happy. But I felt like it wasn't enough. It made me feel like a bad person for thinking that.

Neji

She laid on my bed and dozed as I worked on a report at my desk. I knew this was my last day off, but I didn't want to tell her that. She was upset enough as it is. _You make me happy… _It kept ringing in the back of my mind. Those words made my heart beat faster and I prayed she didn't feel it when she hugged me. It was obvious to me that I liked her a bit more than I should, but it would pass. She was a guest and I was getting too attached. Going to work and getting my mind off of everything at home would make the senseless feelings for her dissipate. I only had them because I was worried about her and trying to keep her safe, and to act on those emotions would be meaningless in the end. Getting back to work and filling my mind with less of her would work the problem out. The last thing I needed was my family poking fun at us and making her feel uncomfortable. Once I heard even breathing behind me, I put down my pencil and got up. I took her to her room and put her in bed, admiring her tranquil state for a moment afterwards. I planned to leave before she woke, so this was the last I'd see of her sleeping peacefully.

{AN/ A special thanks to Airheadninja for the review. Sorry I missed a week of posting. I'm getting ready for surgery in a few months and finding time to sit down and post is kind of hard. But don't worry! I have many chapters to post still!}


	18. Was the Trade of Light and Dark Worth It

Hanako

"Wake up, hun," a woman said, rubbing my back in a motherly way.

Opening my eyes, I searched for the clock beside my bed. It read 6AM and I was confused. Usually they let me sleep until 8AM. Tiredly, I looked over to see Neji's mother standing beside the bed in her nurse's uniform. I was greatly confused now.

"Wha…?" I croaked groggily, trying to wake up enough to comprehend what was going on.

"Come on, Hanako, you and I need to get to the hospital soon," she urged, peeling back the blankets and helping me sit up.

"Where's Neji…?" I asked as I rubbed my tired eyes.

"He had to get back to work at the ANBU headquarters," she said, taking a look at the bandages on my foot, "Really, Hanako, we should hurry. My rounds start at 7 and we need to replace these bandages, which will take some time."

My mind snapped awake. I knew replacing my bandages would mean extreme pain. And I for one was no good with extreme pain. Pushing small or moderate amounts of pain away was not much of a problem to put out of my mind, but a constant, vicious ache like it would be for her to even move my ankle a bit while replacing my bandages would not even be imaginable for me.

"I don't want to go…" I said meekly, grabbing a hold of the blanket warily and tugging it back over me in a futile attempt to hide myself.

"Hanako, it's important you have them changed soon," she retorted, tugging the blanket away from me again, "They're dirty and you could get an infection or something from that."

"I…I-I don't want to change them unless Neji's here…" I said, trying to buy myself time if refusing wasn't an option.

"He won't be home until late tonight. I'm sorry," she said, patting my shoulder, "But that is an idea. We could just change them here."

She thought it over and left the room. As soon as the door was shut I struggled to get to my feet and grabbed my crutches. What did she mean Neji went back to working? Why didn't he tell me? It upset me he hadn't said a word about it, but then again maybe he hadn't known it would happen. I truly hoped that was the case. I headed for the door, but when I went to open it Neji's mother stood outside it with Hinata, Hanabi, Lord Hyuuga, and a couple other relatives.

"Hanako, this is important and I'm not letting you wiggle your way out of this. Your health is on the line," she said, surprisingly grabbing me around the waist and putting me over her shoulder.

Hinata picked up my fallen crutches and moved them aside. I was too stunned to fight back. Landing with a slight bounce on the bed, I came to my senses and tried to sit up. Hinata came over, a gentle hand pushing me back down.

"I-It's okay, Hanako," she said softly to calm my rising dread of the pain to come, "W-Well be right here with you."

"I-I want to wait for Neji—" I started, but quickly shut up as said boy's mother began to unwind the bandages holding my ankle in its healing position.

I pulled away a bit each time she tugged at it to pull the length of the bandages to the other side. A moment later, the support in my foot loosen and made my ankle twitch. Crying out in pain, I tried to sit up and cradle my aching foot. My shoulders were pushed back down by Hinata and her father. That made me kick out of fright from not being able to move and their relatives quickly grabbed my legs to hold them still as Neji's mother undid the bandage work. The pain increased as the bandages lessened and the waterworks began. I struggled against my captors. Hyperventilation set in only a few moments later. Neji's mother became worried.

"Hanako, where are your pain pills?" she asked, but I was too unsettled to think of the answer.

"I don't know! I-I don't know…!" I sobbed, struggling to breathe correctly for just a moment.

Neji's mother searched the room but couldn't find them, so she decided to just finish her work quickly. One could probably hear my screams of agony that came as she repositioned my barefoot with the splint all the way at the Hokage tower. I could barely stay conscious. My sight was blackening and my breath was barely making it past my sobs of pain. I couldn't feel the hands gripping me tightly to holding me down anymore. I was sinking into a dark place like I had before when Neji brought me home with Sai. I didn't like that place. It made me feel like I was drowning. I clawed at the arms holding me, trying to pull myself back from the dark place. It was no use. I slipped in, crying the whole time and begging to be let out. Begging for Neji to save me.

Neji

I couldn't stay at work, knowing Hanako would be upset by my absence, so at noon I went home to check on her. As I entered the house, I was tempted to go right to her room, but remembered her pain pills were still in my room from the day before. She'd taken one to even out the supply and fall asleep quicker. I went to my room and got them, but again stopped myself from going to her room. Instead, I surmised I'd just ask my uncle how she was doing, drop off the pills with him, and leave. Knocking on the door to my uncle's study, I entered when granted permission. But what I saw left me in disbelief. He was changing the bandages on his right forearm where what looked like something had clawed its way down his arm.

"Uncle, what happened?" I asked with concern, yet cautiously.

"Hanako scratched up my arm with her nails this morning," he said, continuing to wrap the new, crisp bandages around his forearm.

"What did you do to her while I was gone!" I shouted, seeing red quickly.

"Your mother had to change the bandages on Hanako's foot, so she did so this morning," he said calmly, "She chose to change them here at the compound, but I and a few others had to hold her down. We couldn't find her pain pills, so she ended up scratching the hell out of my arm."

"They were in my room!" I yelled, throwing them passed his head, "Why did no one check?!"

I didn't let him answer, running down the hall to Hanako's room. Throwing the door open, I hurried to the side of her bed she was curled up on while wrapped in blankets. The shade was pulled, so the room was cast in shadow, but I could see the trail marks of her tears on her cheek. Gently, I scooped her up in her ball of blankets and her eyes cracked open as I took a seat on the bed.

"N-Neji…?" I heard her ask shakily.

"Yes, I'm here," I replied to comfort her.

She broke into sobs and I bit my lip out of guilt. _Why did no one check my room. They were right on the end table in plain sight. Why did they put her through so much pain?_ I held her tighter, wiping away her tears with my hand.

"It's okay, don't cry. You're okay," I whispered, resting my cheek on the top of her head.

"I-I…I want my pills…" she sobbed, gripping the white chest padding I wore as an ANBU.

"I know just where they are. I'll get them," I said, getting up and placing her back on the bed.

"I-I can't remember where I put them…! I-I can't remember…!" she sobbed.

"It's okay. I remember. Don't worry. I'll get them," I said, drying more tears with the blanket.

I hurried back to my uncle's study, not afraid of the consequences that laid ahead. He had gone back to fixing him arm, so I went in without permission, grabbed the bottle off his desk, and opened it as I left. He said nothing to me, but I knew there would be hell to pay later. I got a cup of water from the kitchen and rushed back to Hanako's aid. She accepted them gratefully.

"Just sleep now. It's okay. I'm right here," I told her.

"D-Don't leave…" she whispered as she fell into her medicated sleep.

And I didn't. I wanted to. I wanted to find the people in my family that had helped put her through so much agony, but I couldn't move. She gripped tight to my hand with a pained look on her face as she slept. Bowing my head and letting my hair curtain around me, I found myself weeping. I'd brought her here to protect her from all the suffering she'd endured at home, but I couldn't even protect her in my own care. I'd failed.


	19. Sometimes One Just Has to Walk Away

{AN/ To the Guest that mentioned in a review about Hanako having almost no description in appearance, I actually wanted to leave that to the imagination. I didn't want to make her a set character or a legitimate "OC" per say. Imagine her the way you'd like. Long hair, short hair, blue eyes, brown eyes, whatever fits your fancy! Thank you for reviewing, who ever you may have been c: and I will also think of a way to change the description once I can think of something that describes this well enough.}

Hanako

When I opened my eyes again, Neji was still sitting on the floor next to my bed. I felt his hand in mine, but his hand was cold. Sitting up, I tugged at his arm, but he didn't wake, only slumping to the side and letting go. Getting out of bed, I walked around him to roll him over in an attempt to wake him.

"Neji, wake up sleepy head," I said, pulling his shoulder.

Shrieking, I jumping back. His throat was slit and blood was smeared all over the floorboards. My heart hammered painfully as I backed away quickly. A kunai laid in his hand.

"Neji!" I shouted, dropping to my knees and placing my head to his chest.

A faint thump was felt, but my panic rose even more.

"Neji, can you hear me?!" I screamed at him, trying to soak up the blood with the blanket.

The answer I got came from the doorway, "He's dead. You made him kill himself," said his uncle.

"No! No! He's still alive!" I bawled.

"You were such a nuisance to him, so he killed himself," his mother said, appearing at the door as well.

"Neji! No! He's alive! I felt his heart beat! Help him!" I screamed, trying to explain what happened.

"Why bring him back if you'll just be here to put him through more hell?" asked one of his cousins as he walked by.

"If you won't help, I'll find someone else!" I hollered, jumping up from the floor and running out of the room. But behind me his family was coming after me, wielding weapons. I screamed and tried to get away but they caught me, jumping on my back as I curled into a ball on the ground. It was suffocating to have them pile on top of me, screaming how I killed Neji.

"I didn't do it! I didn't do it!" I cried, my head was about to explode from lack of air as my deafening heartbeat pounded in my ears. It didn't cease until two firm hands gripped my upper arms. The person tried to pull me up, but I dug my fingers into the dirt.

"Let go…" said an urgent voice in the back of my mind, "Hanako, let go of him…"

Opening my eyes, I screamed at the top of my lungs to find Neji beneath me. His eyes were wide and his arms were flung out to the sides. I quickly let go of his white chest padding and scrambled off him. The blanket from the bed was tangled around me and my ankle throbbed. I couldn't run like I had just a moment before. I flopped around like a fish, trying to find some sort of grip on reality. Neji sat up and crawled over to me.

"Hanako, what's wrong?! Stop, don't cry, tell me what's wrong!" he shouted fearfully.

His calloused fingers struggled to keep all the tears off my face and I could barely breathe seeing him before me. Quickly reaching out, I pushed his hair back over his shoulder, searching his neck for the self-inflicted injury. Not a trace could be found. Pushing him back over again, I quickly undid the shuriken pouch around his leg and threw it down the hall as far as I could as my other hand yanked his waist pouch free from his belt loop. After sending it flying down the hall as well, I collapsed on his chest, just sobbing. I wouldn't let him get up. I wouldn't let him try to pick me up. I just laid curled up by his side whilst sobbing on his chest. I didn't calm down until he pat my head gently and stroked my hair.

Neji

I was going back to Hanako's room after my uncle told me he'd heard her calling my name. Sighing sadly, I felt bad I didn't make it back before she woke. As we walked back from the kitchen, we heard someone howling before crashing could be heard. Hurrying down the hall, we saw Hanako sobbing on the floor as she crawled out of her room. Her eyes opened slightly and she jumped on me as I ran to help her. A tight grip with both hands on my padding, she bawled her eyes out on my chest after knocking me down. My uncle attempted to pull her off, but she was holding on for dear life, sobbing that she, "didn't do it." Talking to her soothingly, he coaxed her to ease her grip, but upon seeing my face she was frightened and scrambled to get away, getting tangled up in the blanket still around her. I went over to her weeping form and tried to comfort her, but she attacked me. She pulled my hair and pushed me away, then pushed me back on the ground. I was too stunned to stop her from taking my weaponry pouches and watched her throw them away from us before she collapsed into a sobbing pile again. Hesitantly, I tried to comfort her, stroking her hair as she cried on my chest. Labored breathing turned to hiccups and hiccups turn to sniffles. After a few moments, she relaxed and let me sit up and pick her up off the ground. She whimpered, reaching for her injured foot, so I walked her back into her room for a nap.

"Just go back to sleep and rest," I told her, but she shook her head and just stared out into space, "What do you want for breakfast then?"

"I'm not hungry…" she said quietly.

"Did you have a nightmare, Hanako?" I asked with concern.

"I don't want to talk about it…" she said while rolling over and shutting me out.

"Hanako—"I started.

"Get out of my room!" she screamed.

I didn't know what else to do to help, so I just left. My uncle and I shared a concerned look before parting ways.

I couldn't look at him the same again for a while. I kept seeing him with his slit throat and his family coming after me. I couldn't stay here much longer. But what they'd said in my dreams was right. I was burdening him. He should be at work helping the village not constantly coming home and checking on me. I'd out lived my welcome, I knew that a while ago, but by the end of the week, I couldn't stand staying much longer.

"I'm gonna take a walk around the garden. You go back to work," I said to Neji, looking at the floor.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked like he seemed to every time we spoke to each other.

"Yes."

He left me alone a moment later. I went to the side door and watched him hurry back to the ANBU headquarters. Sighing, I went to my room and got my pain pills from the bathroom where they had been ordered to stay in case of emergency. Collecting my idle weapon pouches from the bureau and the pair of clothes donated to me by the hospital, I was ready to leave. I walked down the hall with my things bundled up in the large shirt, I went to see Lord Hyuuga.

"I'm going to meet my friend Sasuke at Ichiraku for lunch today," I told him after knocking.

"Do you need change?" he asked, paying half his attention to me and the other half to his current work.

"Just a little," I sighed, "I don't plan on staying long."

It amused me when I said that because only the true meaning of that sentence was apparent to me. He nodded and handed me a bit of money, shooing me out with the bidding of a good afternoon. I took my leave and walked away from the compound without looking back. It was something I needed to let go of. I could take care of myself. Walking a long way to an official looking building, I headed in with a grimace.


	20. And Sometimes Friends Can't Let You

Hanako

"You're back so soon, Nako-chan," said Ibiki, giving me a slightly warm welcome.

"I just decided to get back to work since Neji has too. He worries too greatly for my wellbeing. He's chivalrous but I can provide for my own," I said as I headed for my office.

I liked that here I didn't have to hold back on my intelligence. I could say big words and wouldn't have to repeat them and dumb them down for anyone. Ibiki was the only one nice to me ever when I was here though, so I was glad he was the first to greet me.

"I have an interrogation in a couple minutes, if you'd like to sit in and give your input," he offered.

"I guess I could, but I still do have a lot of work to catch up on," I told him, knowing there was a stack of files on people I'd have to go through and write psychological reports for on my desk.

"Leave it for later, kid," he said, ruffing my hair, "Let's make your first day back a good one."

"Okay…" I said giving in, but not managing to suppress a smile, "Who's the prisoner?"

"Your favorite kind, one of those really twitchy ones that thinks screaming, 'You'll never get me to talk!' is like being in a movie," he sighed, shaking his head.

"So he's young?" I inquired, walking behind him.

"Probably mid-twenties, leaking intelligence between here and those sneaky Kumo rebel bastards."

"You'll probably want to attack those lonely feeling he has from being an orphan and relate it to why he hasn't been rescued. It goes along with his little movie plot delusions," I told him before we walked in.

He took my advice easily, probably having the same ideas as me anyway. I sat in a chair in the corner and just watched. I admired the way Ibiki didn't have to lay a finger on the young man to have him spewing his information within 5 minutes. My presence was usually a breaking point for most people. Sometimes the way I would just sit and stare at them as they were mentally tortured perturbed them over the edge, screaming their evil plans and knowledge at me to try and escape Ibiki's mind traps. Sometimes Ibiki would send them over the edge by pretending I wasn't real and that he couldn't see me. In a way, this sort of thing was amusing to me. Watching these people who were out to harm our village and destroy our way of life get what they deserved felt like justice. Sometimes, when Ibiki would use me to play tricks on their minds, it made me feel like I was abusing my brilliance. All I had to do was talk to them about what I could infer from their mere presence while staring and not stop talking about their insecurities and fears until they screamed at me like madmen. Once, a full grown man had burst into tears like a child and begged me not to speak of his deceased brother, but I did anyway since I could tell it would push him to the edge and he ended up having a heart attack from the stress. The doctors had saved him, but I hadn't done many interrogations after that, unless with Ibiki. Once we had the information we needed from the mere boy, Ibiki let the ANBU in and we walked out together.

"Thanks for sitting in, Nako-chan. That death-like stare you give these men is like no other, making it easier to push them to their limits a lot faster," he commented.

"Death-like stare?" I asked.

"You stare unblinkingly at them sometimes and it scares them witless," he explained as we walked to the main room to turn in the report on the young man.

"Oh… I just zone out sometimes and I stop hearing them talk. Talk is useless when your behavior gives away every detail. I just watch them move, and breathe, and think and it all becomes apparent was is true and what is false," I told him though he probably already knew all that.

"Our little lie detector," commented one of our fellow coworkers as he passed the conversation while toting a stack of reports.

Turning to the head ANBU running the Cypher Corps, I asked, "What's my next assignment."

"On the right of your stack of files is the most important assignment," he replied without looking up.

Just by looking at him, I could tell Lady Hokage hadn't spoken to him as of yet, but for now it was not my place to speak. Bidding Ibiki good bye, I went to sit in my office, on the floor, falling asleep with a file on my left, right, and lap.

Neji

"Calm down!" My uncle commanded me as I paced like a lion in and out of his study.

"Don't tell me to calm down when Hanako is missing!" I yelled back.

"Neji, we'll find her. It'll be okay," my mother told me, but I was having none of it.

"She could be dead in the streets somewhere!"

"You're over reacting."

"No, I'm not! We all should be worried about her! It's passed midnight and no one can find her!" I shouted, trying to think of what was going on.

"You said she was going for a walk, but you said she went to Ichiraku to meet Sasuke for lunch. And you said Sasuke told you he was never supposed to be there and hasn't seen her once since a few days ago. She probably ran off because she feels alienated here. This will be fine. Your cousins went to her family's home and said she wasn't there, so she didn't go running back to the abuse. Calm yourself down, Neji, or you can sit in your room and wait until we find something out," my mother said, touching my arm.

Nodding, I tried to keep ahold of the coil that had sprung loose within my chest with the worry.

"I see Hinata now," my uncle informed us.

My mother grabbed my arm to make sure I didn't say a word that would spook Hinata into sputtering out the information she was sent to get from the Hokage. She came in, slightly out of breath. We waited patiently for her to tell us the news.

"Sh-She's working right now…" she told us.

"Working?" my uncle asked with confusion.

"H-Hanako works with the Cypher Corps… Th-They said that H-Hanako fell asleep in her office…" was her reply.

"She shouldn't be working, she's still hurt," I said, pulling away from my mother.

"Her foot doesn't hinder her work at the Cypher Corps, Neji, so it is fine if she wishes to return to work. She will just have to be lectured on the importance of informing us where she is going." My uncle replied.

"But why would she lie to us," I demanded.

"B-Because she feels she doesn't belong here, Neji…" Hinata said softly, "Sh-She feels like she's a burden to us…"

"She isn't! Is she?! She needs to stop thinking that! It's not right!" I spat angrily.

"No one thinks that, Neji. She's just used to a different lifestyle," my mother told me, "Perhaps it is us who need to change, not her."

My uncle wasn't pleased by her statement and sent us all out. He was sure that those at the Cypher Corps would take care of her and return her tomorrow. But Hinata and I didn't leave faith in the Cypher Corps and headed over to the shady looking building on the other side of town.

{AN/ A special thank you so much elmms for telling me that chapter 10 and 11 were doubles! I encourage all of you who have read up to this point to go and see the update! (3/7/13)}


	21. Come Home

Neji

After threatening them and their livelihoods with my ANBU status, they let us in, but we were directed to speak with Morino Ibiki, instead of the Head of the Cypher Corps, and that bothered me.

"Where is Hanako. She left our home earlier today and never returned. The Hokage said she was here," I demanded.

"Hanako is here. She chose to catch up on the work that has piled up on her desk," he replied calmly.

"Th-They said she fell asleep here… M-May we take her home?" Hinata asked politely, much to my displeasure.

"Actually, she is helping out with an interrogation at the moment. She was roused, for they've been waiting a week to have her observe a certain prisoner," we were told.

Before I could lash out, Hinata stepped in front of me.

"C-Could we observe the interrogation with you, then?" she inquired, keeping her polite tone, which was also a harsh reminder for me to keep mine.

He seemed hesitant, but agreed, knowing we were both at clearance level. Leading us up to an observation room, we were high above Hanako and a middle aged man, who was tied to a chair, as we watched through glass.

"What are you here for, kid," he barked, the interrogation seemly just having begun.

"I'm just here to observe. Please continue as you normally would. The interrogator shall be in shortly," she said evenly as she situated herself in a chair at the corner of the room, crutches leaned against the wall.

"I was expecting that scar covered bastard to be in here, not some baby faced Genin. What kind of tactic is this shit," he snarled.

"I am not a Genin, sir. I am a Jonin. I am also an official within Konoha's Cypher Corps, though I am only 17. Please return the respect I show you, sir," she stated briefly before writing down something in her notebook.

"A baby psychologist? That's all I get? I thought I'd at least get the top notch one. Who are you training under, kid? Is it that Ibiki asshole," he glared.

"Ibiki was one my mentors, yes. But not anymore. He actually has a lower title than I do, thank you. I am top of my field, so please don't complain. The interrogator shall be in shortly," she repeated herself.

Hinata and I glanced to Ibiki and a nod confirmed Hanako's words. It was silent as she wrote down more notes, looking him over every once in a while. He suddenly exploded.

"Where is that Ibiki bastard! Go get him, you little bitch!" he hollered, struggling at the restraints that held him to his chair.

"So I've graduated to being a "bitch" instead of a "kid" now? I'm glad you're starting to recognize my rank. But alas, the interrogator shall be in shortly," she remained collected, continuing to write.

It was amazing to watch her slowly bring out his anger by making it seem that he acknowledged something he'd insulted about her before and by using repetitive language. She was riling him up, so he'd explode when the interrogator came in. High strung detainees were always the best to work with. Especially since Hanako had forced him to see her as a stressor.

"What are you writing in that book, you weasel! Can't be anything good! I'm good at modifying my body language and you haven't said more than a peep to me!" he growled.

It angered me because it sounded like her father; how he spoke to her.

"Did you know, modified body language is actually gives away intentions easier than unmodified body language? If you're restraining yourself from moving your right arm because you know I'll see you're weaker on that side, it just makes it more obvious that you fell off a cliff as a child and broke your ulna," she said without looking up, "Now tell me I'm not good at my job, sir, because we have no file on you that would date back to your childhood. I inferred that you were abandon at the age of 6 and your mother left you because your father had been killed and she couldn't bear to look at you because you reminded her too much of your father. No records were kept of you until you made it into the bingo book and I got all that from sitting here with you right now. Anyhow, please hush. The interrogator shall be in shortly."

And suddenly, he was silent. He was staring at her in shock, eyes looking her over cautiously.

"How could you know any of that!" he screamed at her.

"You twitch your right hand slightly, which means nerve damage. But since they are not violent spasms, it means you must have hurt your arm a long time ago, approximately age 6. You broke your ulna near the elbow after falling from a height of more than 20 yards, which is taller than a house, so a mountain cliff seems the only other option since you come from an area where mountains are abundant. The bone pinched your pronator quadratus, that muscle that is on your inner arm, and I know that because your index finger twitches and it is connected to said muscle. I know your mother left you because you have animosity towards me, a young woman that is much like the age your mother had you. It was because of your father's death, which is easily apparent since you have an inflated ego due to your lack of male role model, that you refer to other men in vulgar terms. I know your mother left you because you look like your father because many of the scars on your face are shallow; therefore self-inflicted in an attempt to make you look less like your father, so that if you ever do see your mother again, she will accept you," she finished her speech and went back to writing in her notebook.

He was silent again and didn't speak even when an interrogator did finally come in. He relieved her and Ibiki took us to see her. Hinata and I were both speechless. It was frightening how much detail she got from just sitting before him for only 15 minutes.

"That's my girl!" Ibiki congratulated her when he saw her.

She grabbed him in a hug, thanking him.

"A pair of Hyuuga are here to see you," he told her as she let go.

After all she'd just done in the interrogation room, she looked legitimately surprised to see us there.

"What are you doing here," she said, not sounding pleased at all to see us, her eyes focused mainly on Hinata if not the floor.

"We came to bring you home," I told her.

"No, Neji, I need to stay here. It's okay. I've slept in my office many times before. Don't worry about me," she declared before summarily turning to walk away.

"Hanako, no, bring your work with you, please. Just come home with us," I pleaded.

"I can't," she murmured.

We followed her down the hall, not letting up on begging her to come home.

"Why did you lie to us, Hanako," I questioned, catching up to her slow pace.

"Because I belong here, doing my work and being useful," she said curtly.

"Y-You need to recover, Hanako…" Hinata mentioned.

"You're not a burden to us," I reminded her once again.

"Just go home!" she screamed, slowly climbing a flight of stairs.

"Not without you," I stated firmly.

"I don't belong there! I'm just entertainment to your family! I refuse to be viewed as an entertainment source by your relatives anymore!" she shouted, making it to the top of the stairs and rushing down the hall.

"They'll stop. I'll make them stop. They have no right. I understand. But please don't stay here where it's cold, and dirty, and full of criminals that could break loose at any time!" I yelled back in retaliation as I ascended the stairs as well, "Hanako! Look at me at least!"

I stopped her by grabbing her shoulder, but she kept her eyes on the floor.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you really want to stay here more than you do with us," I told her, giving her one last chance to refuse.

She didn't move, so I grabbed her chin and turned her face to look me in the eyes. But she quickly squeezed her eyes shut.

"Look at me!" I demanded.

"I can't!" she roared, pulling away and turning from me.

"Why not!" my anger boiled over because I knew something was wrong with her and she wasn't tell me, "Tell me why you can't even look at me anymore! Tell me what I did!"

"You slit your own throat! That's what you did!" she said, the beginning of a sob making it into her voice.

I stood there stunned, not sure how to answer. What was she talking about?

"When did I do that?" I asked, toning it down a bit.

"A little while ago! In my dream! You committed suicide because I'm such an inconvenience to you and your family! And your family chased me out, screaming at me how it was my fault! I killed you!" she sobbed into the crook of her arm, "I felt your heart beat so faintly when I checked to see if you were still alive and your family wouldn't get help! They wanted to punish me for pushing you that far!"

Suddenly, her episode of irrationality earlier that week all made sense. Why she'd tossed my weapons out of my reach. Why she laid on me and cried for so long, denying my movement.

"Hanako, you should have told me," I said, touching her shoulder.

"What could you have done? I can't look at you without seeing you look so lifeless and covered in your own blood, Neji! I can't go back!" she wept.

"Yes, you can. You have to," I said, pulling her shoulder to turn her.

Her eyes remained squeezed closed tightly, though she faced me now.

"Look at me, Hanako. I'm fine," I told her, holding her shoulders, "Just look at me. Please."

"I can't…" she cried, "I can't see you like that again…!"

"It never happened. It was just a dream."

"A dream that made me get out of bed and run away in my sleep!"

"Dreams are just illusions. You were worried about me and imagined the worst. If you just stop thinking that it's going to be true when you open your eyes, you can be free from the nightmare. Please, just look at me. I need to know you'll be all right. Please show me you're all right," I begged her, my voice escalating, "You don't know how worried I was that you were missing, Hanako. You scared me half to death. It was living hell knowing you could be dead somewhere because you weren't with us. You owe me this. End both our nightmares and look at me, Hanako!"

Slowly, her eyes cracked open, tears spilling out. She reached up and touched my throat, feeling no wound at all. Wiping away some of her tears, I pulled her into a hug right after, where she cried for a good while. Her fists clutched the back of my shirt, fingers digging into my back as she held on for dear life. I could see Ibiki and Hinata, through a glossy sheen of my own tears I refused to let out, looking on and not knowing what to say. It would be best if they remained silent. As soon as she exhausted herself, we were taking Hanako home.

Hanako

Hinata held my stack of files and my crutches, while Neji held me. My mind felt freer, looking at his smooth neck. No cut had been made. It had just been a dream. And I had been weak minded enough to let it get to me. For someone who could crack open the minds of the most deadly people in the world, I could barely understand my own mind.

"Good night, Nako-chan. Don't get yourself into any more trouble, understand? This place should not be somewhere you wish to escape to," Ibiki told me, draping a cloak over me in Neji's arms. It had gotten much colder out than expected. Winter was here already.

"I understand," I'd said, nodding my head lazily against Neji's chest.

It was late. I was tired. I needed to go home now. As they brought me home, Neji probed my relationship with Ibiki.

"He's sort of like…an older brother, I guess. He's been watching out for me since I first started to work with the Cypher Corps. He's made sure that they didn't abuse my intelligence more than they already have, and I'm forever grateful for that," I told them.

"He calls you 'Nako-chan'?" he asked oddly.

"No one other than he does… It's just something that came about," I yawned.

"Y-You should sleep," Hinata reminded me.

Nodding again, I tried to. But I couldn't nod off just yet. We arrived home and Hinata bid us good night as she hurried through the darkened house. Not a single person was awake other than us. It was just as silent as when they were awake sometimes. I gave a heavy-eyed smile when Neji opened the door to my room. It felt good to be laying in the soft bed again, but I was quickly shocked awake when Neji went to sit on the floor. Yanking him back to his feet by his arm, his wide eyes stared back into my own dread filled ones.

"You can't sit there…" I breathed, the memory flashing by.

He nodded, a soft look on in the dim moonlight. He sat on the edge of the large bed, but I patted the spot next to me. Kicking off his shoes, he sat with his back against the head board with his hands folded neatly. Curling into a ball, I faced him and held his hand tight to make sure he didn't go anywhere this time. Slipping off into sleep, I found it more peaceful this time than the other attempts of the past week, his heart pulsing rhythmically in his hand to mine.


	22. I Want to Be the Girl You See

Neji

I grimaced as Hanako's nails dug into my hand, but ignored the urge to pull away. She was just scared I'd leave again. She quickly fell asleep, obviously tired from the long day of work and drama. What my mother had said earlier was right. It was us who needed to change. My family did view Hanako as a source of entertainment, but there was no reason for it to be apparent to her. It was rude and unbecoming, two things the Hyuuga Clan is not. I began to ponder how Ibiki called her "Nako-chan." No one called her any sort of nickname besides him. Why he hadn't called her the obvious shorting of her name, Hana, was beyond me. Perhaps it held some sort of secret meaning. They _were_ both part of the Cypher Corps. That led me to think about what she'd said earlier. Hanako mentioned she worked with the Cypher Corps, but I never thought she meant holding such a high position, at only 17 no less. Her brilliance seemed to be beyond her own comprehension. How could she think her intelligence was useless when she was very close to being the Head of the Cypher Corps? Ibiki was just two or three steps down, so I didn't know what her title could possibly be. Slipping into sleep, I pondered whether I should ask her or not.

Hanako

Neji woke up almost an hour after I did. He had sat against the head board all night, so I'd moved him and draped the blanket over him as I looked over my files from last night. Ibiki had dropped off my notebook very early this morning and Hanabi had come to get me, still in her pajamas. After having spread out my work all over the bed, including on top of Neji as he laid asleep, I'd sorted through 20 men and woman and written 15 reports. When he started to stir, I quickly smacked two hands on the two open files balanced on his side and leg.

"Neji, don't move," I said fretfully, trying not to have my hard work undone in the flurry of a blanket's movement.

His eyes shot open and he looked at me from the corner of his eye with alarm.

"What's going on," he said cautiously, stiff as a rock.

I carefully moved the files off him and to a safer position over another file out of the way already, "I was just doing some work while you slept and spread out so far I was using you as a desk," I smiled nervously.

He started to get out of bed, but I threw myself over his side and tried to pin him down.

"Hanako, what are you doing?!" he shouted as he tried to push his way out of my grip.

"You can't go!" I yelled back, not getting up or letting go of the edge of the bed that I was using to keep him from getting up.

"I have work!" he protested.

"No, you don't!" I shouted matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked in a normal tone, ceasing his struggling as well.

I turned my head and smiled at him as I explained, "I told Ibiki you were sleeping when he came by earlier, so he said he'd get someone to cover for you until noon."

"Hanako, he can't just do that," he said, rolling onto his back and sitting up.

I continued to lay flopped over his legs, just in case he tried to get up again.

"I have authority to. It's okay. You're 'helping me with my work' is all you have to tell them," I justified.

He stared at me for some time, seemingly not knowing what to say.

"You kind of were, actually," I pointed out to fill the empty conversation, "You were sound asleep and I was putting my files on you."

"What position do you hold in the Cypher Corps, Hanako?" he asked, slouching a bit to show me he wasn't going to get out of bed if I got up.

Sitting next to him with my legs crossed as best I could, I looked through the open files on the bed. I didn't want to tell him really, but he'd asked it of me.

"I'm…Second Advisor to the Head of Decoding," I answered aloofly, opening my notebook.

"Really?" he asked with surprise.

I frowned and didn't say anything back.

"Did I offend you?" he asked with concern, sitting up more.

"Is it really that surprising that I'm smart?" I asked snippily, trying not to be mad at him.

I always got an astonished reaction from anyone I told that bit of info to. Yes, it was offending. _Why can't people just congratulate me instead of being so surprised. I'm not stupid._

"I'm not surprised you're smart, Hanako," he said, leaning back again, "I knew that already. I'm surprised you didn't become the Head of Decoding already."

I looked up with bewilderment myself this time, "You think I'm smart enough to be in that position?"

"Well, you could work on your communication skills, but besides that I don't see why not," he replied.

"Shikamaru's IQ is still 25 points above mine, though. And I'm not good at telling others what to do," I stated.

"You get used to telling people what to do once you know what must be done and realize you can't do it all on your own. What is your IQ, anyway?" he inquired.

Sighing, I gave my reply, "One hundred and eighty-two."

"Don't sigh about that, Hanako. Have self-respect. Mine is only about 150. Be proud your IQ isn't the same as your shoe size like Naruto," he joked slightly.

Smiling softly, I nodded, "I know. It just is a shock to people and it embarrasses me to be seen for just my mind. And Naruto's IQ is a normal 100 just like anyone else, so don't be mean. I tested him personally."

Neji smirked, "I'd hate to disagree, but perhaps you miscalculated. He surely isn't above a 60."

"He's not mentally handicapped, Neji!" I laughed,

"Or so you say," he retorted, though his look turned somber a few moments later, "Now what is this about being embarrassed by your intelligence. That's absurd."

I shifted uncomfortably, knowing my own body language was speaking volumes to him, "I'm just…Ino is known all around the village as being beautiful. Sakura is known for her strength and unique hair. Hinata is known for overcoming so much and her looks as well. People only ever say I'm smart. I…I just was to be seen as pretty too sometimes…" I murmured.

Neji's eyes narrowed, almost like he was confused. We stared at each other for a full minute before I broke eye contact.

"What are you talking about, Hanako," Neji said, finally interrupting the silence.

"I don't know…" I shrugged, picking up a file.

"Hanako, that was a ridiculous statement," he said, shifting and getting out of bed as I bit my lip.

I watched him walk out and tried to keep my tears in. It hurt to hear him say it out loud, though I knew it on the inside. Reading through the file became hard as tears muddled the words. I blinked hard to keep them from falling and ruining the crisp white papers in my hand. I'd felt something of a crush forming for Neji the longer I stayed here, but this told me it was a stupid thought. I was no different to him than any other ordinary person in the village. All I was to him was a guest who needed help. A brain he should fear. Why would he have affection for a boring girl like me when there were hundreds of girls out there who were 20 times more interesting than me. Neji came back in a few moments later. He stood next to the bed and shoved something in my face. Out of instinct, I jerked away and put up my arms in defense. When Neji didn't move, I peered past my arms and saw he held a hand mirror out towards me. I could see my own terrified face as I defended myself against a harmless movement.

"Sit up, Hanako," he said, reaching out a hand to me after lowering the mirror.

I let him pull me up when I took his hand and watched him walk back to the other side of the bed where he took his previous seat. Taking my wrist, he put the mirror handle in my palm.

"Tell me what you see," he said, holding my limp arm up so the mirror was in front of my face.

"I see me," I said, looking aside and being stubborn.

"Try again smart ass," he said, moving my wrist so the mirror was in front of my face again.

Looking at the mirror, I studied myself. I never spent much time in front of a mirror. I didn't see the need. I wasn't going to get any prettier than what I was born with, so why try harder when there were other things to do.

"I see faint scars from my beatings as a child. I see my unkempt hair. I see the pointless tears in my eyes," I said with as bored a tone as I could keep my voice in, for it would surely crack if I let it do as it pleased.

"Look in your own eyes, like you do mine all the time. Tell me what you see. I'm not letting go of you until you tell me what I want to hear," he said, his grip tightening on my wrist, "because what I want to hear is what you really think of yourself."

"I see a girl who is of no use to anyone other than her mind and maybe not even that. And even then, when she uses the one thing that makes her unique, it doesn't matter. She has her ideas stolen from her all the time and yet she always goes back to give away those ideas. She keeps going back to the people who hurt her because if she didn't feel the pain, she might not feel anything at all. And not feeling anything scares her more than the abuse. She lets her friends use her. She lets her family abuse her. She lets her work go unnoticed because she was taught to be humble. She can't make a single friend who will stick around long enough for her to make a bond to someone who won't hurt her. And she won't stick around to make the bond either because it scares her that the person will abuse her too. She has no purpose. She often wonders why she lives, but is too scared to die," I said.

I let go of the mirror after I finished speaking and swallowed hard. Why was he doing this to me?

"But it doesn't matter who she is on the inside. No one cares who she is! They just want to see her handing out the work with a bright smile! They want to see her in pain! It assures them she won't do anything other than what they ask! And she takes it because she's too scared to do anything else! She's a waste of being!" I yelled at him, before pulling my knees up to my chest and placing my arms on top of them to hide my face as I cried.

I felt Neji try to pull me out of my ball, but I hardly moved. He shifted around on the bed, closing the files and moving them out of the way. I wasn't prepared for him to wrestle me out of my ball of pity. Now that the files were safely out of the way, he could pry my arms away from my knees. Out of shinobi instinct, I released myself and set upon to beat him, but he had me pinned down under him within an instant. My weak punches hadn't phased him more than a flinch. He quickly reached out and grabbed the mirror, holding it in front of my face as he leaned over me. I tried not to look.

"You know what people see?" he asked harshly, "People see a girl who cries day in and day out. People see a girl who can't stand up for herself. People see a girl who is weak in most areas being a shinobi insists you be strong in. People see a girl who isn't as pretty as some other girls."

He paused as I sobbed beneath him. It was all true.

"But you know what," he said, his tone softening, "I see a girl who has a damn good reason to cry all the time. I see a girl who's dying on the inside because she doesn't stand up for herself, not because she can't, but because she doesn't know how. I see a girl who may not be as strong in Nin Jutsu or Tai Jutsu as most are, but the village would be lost without her brilliant plans. I see a girl who may not be the most beautiful girl to ever live, but has the most beautiful temperament anyone could ever come across. She does anything for anyone. She gives everything to everyone. I don't know who this girl you see is, but she's certainly not you. Look at yourself."

I couldn't do much more than sob or gasp for air, but he seemed to know that I understood what he was saying. If I continued to see myself the way I did now, I would become that girl. At the moment I was at the crossroads of which girl I wanted to be and I had to decide now. Did I want to go along and continue to be abused the rest of my life, mentally, physically, and emotionally? Or did I want to become stronger and stop the abuse without having to lean on someone every minute of every day. Pulling Neji into a hug by his neck, I tried to speak without hiccupping too much.

"I-I want to be…th-the girl you see…" I told him, "B-But I don't know how…"

"Tomorrow is another day. Today you can be as weak as you want because tomorrow will hurt even more. You'll need to be strong," he said, his arms moving to wrap around me and hug me back.

I wept out the rest of my pain. Tomorrow was the beginning of the rest of my life.

Neji

I dropped her off at the Cypher Corps Headquarters at almost noon. A few people were standing outside, waiting for her apparently. She handed certain people files and followed a man inside as they dispersed. I nodded to her when she looked back before going inside the dark building. She gave me a bright smile, much like the ones she gave me when we first met. I hoped that was a sign she was getting better, and not going back to her old ways. But I trusted her. She could take care of herself. It was not my place to worry. I left quickly to relieve the person performing my duties while I was gone.


	23. How They Dare Try to Dull Your Light

Hanako

"He's a tough one," I commented as Ibiki and I watched an interrogation from the observation room.

"He's close to his breaking point, don't you worry," he said back, crossing his arms.

"That's not what your body is saying…" I murmured in a mocking tone, "It's been 50 minutes already. He was expected to crack 20 minutes ago, and at this rate it will take 2 hours."

I wrote down something I noticed about the man and handed it to the assistant in the room, who was to take the note to the interrogator.

"Nako-chan, maybe you should go down there," he suggested.

"I don't want to go down there," I replied simply and calmly.

"You always help speed up the process. Just go in for a few minutes and do what you do best," he urged me.

Gesturing to the interrogator, I gave my retort, "I don't like doing interrogations with anyone other than you. They're too unpredictable, these interrogators. Especially him."

"…Fine," he sighed, giving in to my resistance. He knew why I was reluctant.

"I'll stay here and continue to observe. I'll see something from him and alert the interrogator," I offered as he uncrossed his arms and put his hands in his pockets; a subtle sign he was unhappy with me.

"No, I think it'd be better if you went downstairs and finished up your reports. They're due soon aren't they?" he asked, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

"Yes, they are," I said, nodding to his suggestion.

He was mad, I could tell, but he couldn't blame me for my unwillingness. I was standing my ground with the strength Neji had given me. Walking through the quiet corridors towards my office, I was about turn a corner when I noticed a decoding room with its door wide open. That wasn't allowed, so I started towards it in hopes of finding out if it was empty or not. My answer was given just a few steps before I reached the opening and made me stop dead in my tracks.

"…tired of Hanako giving us this crap work. Either we can figure it out in a heartbeat and it's a waste of our time, or it's an impossible code she gave us because she can't figure it out herself," someone complained from inside the room.

"I know. She just doesn't want to be caught with a code she can't decipher or people will figure out she'd not as smart as she says she is," commented another voice and continued in a mocking tone, "Oh, I'm second assistant to the Head of Decoding. I don't have time to do lowly decoder work that I was doing just last year."

"She's got Ibiki wrapped around her little finger. Probably slept her way to the top," grumble the other.

"Hey, that was uncalled for. She's just a kid. You don't think she actually did, do you?" his friend replied.

"I wouldn't put it past her with her big doe eyes. Man, what the hell is this crap? I can't figure out a single letter!"

"I think this might be the word 'the', but Ibiki and the Head of Decoding are both at least 30. She's only 17. That's really messed up."

"Who knows what she'd do. If she's going to make us look bad by giving us this crappy work, then she can do just as underhanded things as sleeping with either of them," the voice replied with acid in his tone.

I couldn't breathe. My heartbeat pounding in my ears. What was I to do? Was I to report them for their comments? Or get back at them and report them for their breech of code? Or just forget it and run? I didn't know if I could stand much longer. No one had ever criticized me so cruelly. In the back of my mind, I could hear Neji telling me to stand up for myself. To not let them insult me this way. But I couldn't find the strength to. I was too scared of their reactions. I wasn't ready. But I was surprised to see Shikamaru walk by me. His quick glance to me revealed he'd been behind me the entire time.

"You both have some audacity to say that crap," he said aloofly, his hands in his pants pockets as he stood in the doorway.

"U-Uh, Shikamaru!" one yelped with surprise.

"If you two weren't so busy gossiping like little school girls, maybe you'd have broken your code already," he shrugged, "You're pretty dumb too, leaving your door open, so the very person you're insulting can hear you."

I took that as my cue to go over and stand with Shikamaru. I kept my face blank like I did in interrogations with Ibiki.

"What do you say, Hanako? Should we report them for their behavior, lack luster performance with their work, or just relieve them of their duty now?" Shikamaru inquired.

I just continued to stare at them. There was no way I could decide on their fate like this. They had families or themselves to support. Taking away their livelihood felt worse than what they'd said about me. And reporting them could cast suspicion on me about their accusations. Shikamaru filled in the silence for me.

"Does your lack of answer leave the choice up to me?" he asked.

"Mmm…I'd rather you handle it. I have other things I should be doing than worrying about these two," I replied in the coldest tone I could muster.

"I'll see you two in the Head of Cypher Corps' office this evening, then," Shikamaru replied, pulling the door shut behind us has he escorted me out.

Once the door was shut, a muffled, "Look what you did now," was shouted. Shikamaru smirked and leisurely motioned me to walk with him. I complied easily, not sure what to do with myself now.

"Why did you let them say that stuff about you, Hanako?" he questioned with a slight tone of confusion.

I said nothing and just gave a small shrug. How does one reply to an insult like that? It was something I still hadn't learned.

"You can't stand by and let them. It's not fair on your part, no matter how much you don't want to get them in trouble," he said, knowing what my silence meant.

After a moment more of silence from myself, I asked him, "Why did you defend me?"

I didn't dare look at him, but he stopped and blocked my path, forcing me to.

"Why wouldn't I defend the honor of my friend? None of it is true, right?" he asked, searching my face.

"Absolutely not," I replied, my brows coming together.

"Then it's my job to stand up for you, if you won't do it yourself," he said firmly.

"But why do you care?" I asked, looking at him with knit brows and a heavy heart.

What did I mean to him at all? I was just someone he'd just met formally not too long ago. Why would he stick up for me. For all he knew what they said could have been true. But he chose to believe me.

"Hanako, I told you before in the hospital. You're as much my friend as Naruto is. You do realize how close Naruto and I are, don't you? We aren't just friends when we see each other. I have his back and he has mine at all times. He's got your back and so do I. So to answer your question, I care because I'm not going to let some pair of idiots insinuate my friend is any less than a proper woman. We may have just formally met only a few weeks ago, but I know you'll be there if I need you, so I'm here for you. Don't let anyone tell you that you are any less than what you are, understand?" he stated, a knowing looking on his face the whole time.

His brilliance surpassed my own, so why did I think I could hide anything from him, "I understand."

"Now, get back to work," he smirked, turning to go.

"Shikamaru-san?" I asked timidly.

"Shikamaru is just fine, Hanako. Just call me that," he retorted.

"Thank you, Shikamaru. Really," I said, reaching out and hugging him quickly.

Hugging seemed to be the only way I could get people to understand that I was grateful. Sometimes I just wanted to hug every person in the world. He waved as he walked away, mumbling, "Troublesome woman…" under his breath with a chuckle. I walked back to my office. Sitting in my chair, crutches aside, I thought over what he told me. He was a true friend like Naruto and Neji. Did that mean all of Naruto's other friends accepted me as such as well? I couldn't know for sure, but I hoped it was true.


	24. We All Pay a Price

{AN/ I'm sorry for dropping off the face of the earth. I had surgery and have hardly been cognizant for half the month of April. Forgive me dear readers and be rewarded with longer-than-usual chapter today}

Neji

"What?! Who said that to you!" I demanded when Shikamaru told us of what had been said about Hanako earlier that day.

We all sat around our usual booth at Yakiniku Q. Hanako sat next to me on the end. She gave a shrug and kept her eyes on her food, fidgeting her splinted foot restlessly.

"We'll make them pay for that!" Naruto shouted across the table.

"It's fine. It's just words," she said evenly, "I don't really care."

"It was still rude of them for implying that," Shino told her composedly, "Just let Shikamaru deal with them."

She nodded solemnly, though avoiding everyone's gaze.

"Are you sure you're all right, Hanako?" I questioned, feeling she still didn't understand our worry.

"…Ibiki did get me my promotion to Second Advisor," she blurted out, glancing at us all briefly, "Not in the way they said, but he did put in a good word for me. I feel guilty about it sometimes, but I couldn't turn down the job."

"That's just like getting recommendation letters to be an ANBU, Hanako. They're just mad they don't have someone who will do the same for them because they're obvious jerks," Ino told her.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. Just…Just no one say anything about it. It's fine. It'll go away if no one says anything," Hanako said, keeping her eyes trained on her plate as she pushed her food around relentlessly.

"That's not going to happen, Hanako. They need to be put in their place. Such accusations aren't acceptable," said Shikamaru.

Hanako grabbed my sleeve in her fist and tugged for me to lean in closer to her.

In a breath, she whispered to me, "I-I'm gonna cry… I-I don't want to cry in front of our friends…"

"It's not like they don't already know you want to," I pointed out in my whispered reply.

With wide, watery eyes, she looked around at our friends with mixtures of worried and angered looks.

"This is just like the time that one guy accused Sakura of doing things with one of the doctors at the hospital," Tenten pointed out aloofly but snapping her chopsticks together threateningly, "Ino and I went down to the hospital where the guy was hanging around and wrung his neck. You don't have to worry about anything, Hanako. We'll all protect you."

"Of course," I seconded with a curt nod after crossing my arms.

The air settled to a calmer atmosphere as the girls switched seats around to be able to reach their friend in need, drying tears with napkins and telling tales of the men they'd fought off. All of us guys were shoved to the back of the booth, conversing over what Shikamaru should do to the offenders that had insulted "our fragile flower" as Lee put it. Naruto opted for a harsh pummeling. The rest of us opted for Shikamaru to have them suspended or something of that nature. Once that discussion was over, a comfortable silence fell over the group as dishes were passed around to their respective owners. But like usual, it didn't stay mellow for long.

"Where's Sasuke?" Hanako asked, looking around at us all. Tension immediately charged the air once again.

"Well… Naruto and I went to his apartment earlier and told him to meet us all for dinner…but he just said 'Yeah' and shut the door," Sakura reported.

Naruto sighed and Sakura played with her food. Hanako waved her hand to get Sakura's attention.

"Why are you upset? He said yes. He just needs to be reminded. Come on," she said, getting to her feet and grabbing her crutches.

"It's probably not a good idea, Hanako. He doesn't like being told things twice. It annoys him," Naruto said with eyes cast downward.

"I don't care," Hanako said simply, with a slight shrug, "Shikamaru can stay here and make sure the waiter doesn't take our food and we'll all be right back."

"Sounds fine by me," Shikamaru answered immediately, just glad he didn't have to go anywhere.

"But…" Sakura trailed off, but Hanako was already on her crutches and headed for the door before Sakura could make more of a rebuttal.

Hanako

Everyone followed, probably more interested in Sasuke's reaction than convincing him to come. But he wouldn't say no to me. I had some tricks up my sleeve that would make it impossible for him to refuse. Admittedly, they did happen to be interrogation techniques, but they could be applied to normal situations too! Sakura and Naruto led the way to Sasuke's apartment. He'd been moved there by the Hokage when he got back, so he could be observed by ANBU easily. But I trusted he was home for good. Naruto pulled me onto his back and carried me up to the second floor as Sakura held my crutches. The others straggled behind, most likely trying to avoid his impending fury. Once back on my feet, I reached out and knocked on his door. A crash could be heard before the door was opened, causing Sakura and Naruto to back away like our friends.

The door was flung opened and an angered, "WHAT?!" was shouted in my face by a wrathful Uchiha.

"You didn't come to dinner," I stated simply.

"I'm not going to!" he hollered, slamming the door.

Giving a sigh, I stepped forward and opened the door. Sasuke looked surprised but still angry as before.

"Why not?" I inquired calmly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" he yelled.

"Asking you why you went back on your word," I said, narrowing my eyes now. It was time to use my techniques.

"I did not," he growled, coming towards me.

"You told Sakura and Naruto you would come to dinner by saying, 'Yeah,'" I reminded him.

"I didn't mean it that way!" he said, returning to his furious state.

"Then you should have said no instead of hurting our feelings," I stated back.

"How can I say no to them!" he shouted, turning his back.

"By telling them why you didn't want to come," I said, letting my tone soften.

"It's no business of yours, or theirs, or anyone's!" he screamed, turning back to me.

I stared at him. I did what Ibiki said I did best and just watched him. Observed him silently. What could possibly be bothering him? His fingers twitched as he stood with his arms crossed. His feet pointed forward as he stood board straight. A picture frame laid on the bookshelf behind him, face down. A few dandelion flower petals laid on the floor between the coffee table and couch to my right. He wore a plain white shirt instead of his usual blue one with his clan's symbol. The pieces started to fall into place.

"Whose death date is today, Sasuke-kun?" I asked, reaching out to him.

He slapped my hand away and turned his back to me. I could tell he was trying to hide his shock and the pain that followed after I'd said what he had been hiding in the first place. I reached out again and touched his back, but he whirled around and stepped back.

"Get out!" he screamed, anger flashing brightly in his eyes.

"Sasuke-kun, it's okay. We understand—" I started but he cut me off in a violent rage.

"Stop being nice to me! I don't care about you! I don't care about any of you! Get out of my house! Get out of my life!" he shouted in my face.

Being used to having someone yelling at me with their face so close, I hardly flinched. Looking back at him as he seethed before me, I could tell he was hurting inside and this was his way of coping. He pushed the people he loved farther and farther away the more upset he got. I nodded to him, turned, and walked for the door.

"I'm leaving your house now, but you can't make me leave your life. I've worked too hard to get friends like you and Naruto. I won't dare let go of a single one of them," I said calmly before gently shutting the door behind me, "Let's go back to the restaurant and finish our meal."

Everyone else agreed.

"Tch, I don't know why you told him that, Hanako. If he wants me out of his life, then good riddance. I don't need him being mad at me when I didn't do a thing to him," Kiba said with a frown.

"When Sasuke-kun is angry, he pushes the ones he cares about as far away as possible. That's how he copes with his sadness," I explained to him.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not going to stay in this kind of abusive friendship. He needs to get his shit together and stop bitching at us. He should know he can tell us anything," he half muttered.

"Kiba, he pushes us away to see who will come back," I told him.

"If that's not abuse, then I don't know what is," he grumbled.

"He ran away and didn't come back until he was sure someone still cared about him. That's his coping mechanism," I argued, starting to become angry at the way he was being rude to his friend.

"He knew from the day he left to the day he got back that there were people here who still cared about him! I wouldn't have gone on that retrieval mission and almost died if I didn't! But he was gone too long! The only people who care he's back is Sakura, Naruto, and you!" he protested loudly, stopping the group in the middle of the street to quarrel with me.

"That's not true," I heard Choji pipe up from behind me as I glared crossly at Kiba, "Ino and I care he's back. Shikamaru doesn't care about much, but I know he cares Sasuke's back. He's even glad Sasuke's back. So are Ino and I. And Hanako. And Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi…Aren't you glad he's back Lee?"

"Yes! Of course! A dear friend returning home is always something to be happy about!" he shouted loudly.

"Yeah, Lee's been waiting years to fight him again. I'm glad he's back so Lee will stop pestering me about it," Tenten chuckled.

"I-I'm glad he's back…" said Hinata quietly, too timid to give an explanation before another person joined in.

"I am glad to have made another friend," Sai smiled.

Shino merely gave a shrug.

"I am content he is back, but we cannot forget that he left this village on his own terms. He wasn't forced. He betrayed our village and will have to spend the rest of his life making up for it," Neji said, crossing his arms.

I knew Sasuke would be listening to us after all the yelling, so I couldn't let that comment be the last Sasuke would hear from his open window just one story above us now. So I took a leap of faith and hoped what came out of my mouth next would keep Neji from disputing back what he might think.

"Neji, shut up."

A hush fell over the group as I smiled at Neji. He stood with astonishment written all over his face. Everyone else did as well. Grinning at Neji, I explained myself.

"It doesn't matter if you think Sasuke is a traitor because he's home. Where he belongs. Where we can protect him and take care of him. There a lot of things that we've all done that we will be paying for the rest of our lives. His leaving the village is his price. We all have a price, so don't criticize someone else for theirs."

Keeping my grin was extremely hard right now, seeing everyone with their thoughtful looks as they reflected on the prices they had to pay. It became painfully clear to me what almost everyone's price was, which was also a price I had to pay. I was blessed with knowledge far beyond compare to the normal human being, but I was cursed with seeing the pain people felt when they tried to hide it. Naruto's price was his Kyuubi, whether he'd desired that price or not. Sakura's price was the fact she had failed so many times at bring Sasuke back, wanting to take the burden off Naruto. Hinata's price was feeling it was she who caused Neji's father's death, even if she knew otherwise. Kiba's price was the fact he had lost Hinata's affection to Naruto, though he knew his love for her was really only a brotherly one. Choji's price was that he was too kind and was often too easily hurt by mere words. Ino's price was her jealousy of Sakura and her close relationship to the boy she used to love, even if she no longer loved him. Lee's price was knowing he might never be able to surpass Neji because of his hindrance with chakra. Tenten's price was that she feared she may never rise to the goal she set to be just like the Sannin Senju Tsunade because she couldn't beat her biggest competition, Neji as well, while Neji's price was the seal forced upon him by his clan. I wasn't quite sure what's Shino's or Sai's were because they were able to hide their emotions, though in different ways, but I could tell they had their own secret prices in mind. And then that left Shikamaru, who was still back at the restaurant, probably wondering where we were. One would think that he was too aloof to feel like he would have to pay a price, but he would never get over the failure of bringing Sasuke back because he was the captain. It was supposed to be his job to make it a success and he failed, so he'd pay the price for that the rest of his life.

As we all slowly came to an agreement to continue on towards our destination, I reflected on myself. My price had been me staying with my abusers so long, or at least that would be what one would think. Had I stopped paying my price when I left my family? The answer was no. That had never been the price I'd been paying. I hadn't been paying a price until just a few weeks ago. My price to pay was the fact that I would never be allowed to rejoin my family. I was more of a traitor than Sasuke could ever be.


End file.
